


Mamunia

by Jude_Rigby



Series: Beware Of Darkness [8]
Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: Crime, Drama, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Mother's Day, Parenthood, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:35:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 108,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28530816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jude_Rigby/pseuds/Jude_Rigby
Summary: The murder of a young woman, posed in a strange tableau, leaves Castle and Beckett searching for answers and the killer before more victims are found. At the same time they must find a way to balance being investigators and parents when Julia falls ill. Eighth in the Beware of Darkness series.
Relationships: Kate Beckett & Richard Castle, Kate Beckett/Richard Castle
Series: Beware Of Darkness [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006014
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue- There With You

**Author's Note:**

> Want to make a note here that I am not a medical doctor.
> 
> The title of this story is the name of a song by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Paul McCartney and Wings album Band on the Run. The title of this story is a lyric from the song Beautiful Night by Paul McCartney, from his album Flaming Pie.

Staring at his reflection in the elevator doors, he wished he would have taken the stairs, though he reminded himself he hadn't known there was going to be anyone else going up to a different floor with him. Finally he made it to the sixth floor, and nearly ran through the doors before he could even pass through them sideways. But he managed to get out without hitting anything, and ran down to the left after seeing the arrow pointing where he needed to go. When he was close enough to see her sitting on the edge of a chair, he was dismayed to see her holding the doll under her chin and he called out breathlessly, "Kate."

Looking up, Beckett stood hurriedly when she saw it was her fiancée, and would have run into Castle's arms if he hadn't been only a step away from her. She held onto him tightly, not letting go of the doll as she whispered, "They just took her in."

"Here, sit down and tell me what happened," Castle said gently as he moved to help her back to the chair she'd been in. He held her hand tightly, their fingers entwined and waited for her to let him know why she'd called him at almost two in the morning, sounding incredibly upset.

"I woke up about an hour ago," Beckett said, looking at her watch before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter how long it was. I just felt something was wrong." She saw Castle nodding in understanding at that; relieved that he didn't try to question it; and continued. "I went to her room and Julia was sitting up in bed, crying but not making a sound which scared me. When I put her to bed last night she had a little bit of a fever, so I gave her some medicine. But when I touched her forehead earlier she was burning up. And when I asked her if she wanted something to drink she spoke and her voice was…" she trailed off, shaking her head as Castle squeezed her hand. "So I brought her here, because I didn't think I could do much to help her. Luckily they saw her quickly and she's in surgery right now to get her tonsils out."

"And the fever is from that right?" Castle asked, relieved it wasn't more serious, but still worried for their daughter.

"Yeah, it'll go away after, just…" Beckett trailed off again, shaking briefly before they looked up at someone calling her name.

"Katie, where is she?" Jim Beckett asked as he hurried to his daughter as she met him in the middle of the waiting room.

"In surgery," Beckett replied, hugging her father tightly. "It's her tonsils," she said, before telling him the same story she'd told Castle.

Sighing as his daughter finished speaking; Jim joined them at the chairs nearest the door, and said, "What are you going to do?"

"Well of course I can't go to work," Beckett said. "So I'll just stay home and take care of her." She looked down at Julia's Stitch doll that the little girl had been carrying but hadn't been allowed to take into surgery. "She looked so scared," she commented after they'd been sitting in silence for a while. "When I had to leave her, I tried to tell her to be brave, but I almost choked on the words," she nearly whispered.

"Why don't we get some coffee?" Castle asked, knowing she was struggling with her emotions. "Jim, would you like any?"

"Sure," Beckett's dad replied as his daughter and her fiancé stood to go and she handed him Julia's doll. He was worried about her, but knew Castle would take care of her if he needed to, so he sat back, watching the door to the wing, trying not to worry too much about his granddaughter.

"You know she's pretty brave," Castle said as they got some coffee at a vending machine. He knew it was going to taste terrible, but had decided to risk it to try and get her to talk before she broke.

"Yeah, but… she's only five Castle, she doesn't understand what's going on," Beckett sighed, taking a sip of coffee before making a face and walking over to the trashcan in the room. She threw the cup down into it as hard as she could before she kicked at it, pushing it back fully against the corner of the room. "Nothing I could do," she said, her voice angry. "I'm her mother and I couldn't even help her."

"You did," Castle said, grabbing her as she stalked by him to leave the room. He pulled her in front of him and saw her jaw was working as she closed her eyes. "You're her mother Kate, and you have every right to want to help her. And bringing her here as soon as you could, instead of trying to fix things yourself was the best you could do. If she could understand what was going on, she would appreciate that I know." He pulled her into his arms as she pressed her cheek to his shoulder, and felt her shake once, relieved she'd finally let go of some of her pent up emotions.

"I didn't want to do this for just her needing to get her tonsils out, but seeing her crying like that I couldn't…" Beckett said, pulling away from him and dashing the tears from her cheeks.

"I know, the first time Alexis got sick when she was a toddler and she was begging me to make her throat stop burning… when she begged for water at night," Castle said, shuddering at the memory as he could suddenly see in his mind how Julia had looked to Beckett. "That's the hardest thing a parent can see. And if you'd been completely unemotional right now then you would not be her mother. You'd be Julia's caregiver."

Nodding as he was right, Beckett sighed and said, "I'm just glad the boys can't see me like this."

"I really don't think they'd think less of you if they did," Castle said, putting his arm around her. "They know you love Julia and I doubt they expect you to have a heart of stone concerning her. What?" he asked at her slight smile.

"Heart of stone? That's a horrible cliché Castle," Beckett replied. She then grew serious and said, "We should go back, I want to be there the second we can see our little girl. I want her to see we're here."

"Right," Castle said before he paused. "The coffee though… well, since it's garbage, literally, would your dad mind hot chocolate?" When Beckett shook her head he got three cups before they headed back.

"Anyone come out while we were gone?" Beckett asked her dad as soon as she was close enough for him to hear.

"Not yet," Jim said, taking the cup that his daughter handed him.

"It's hot chocolate, I don't think you want to try their coffee," Castle said as he sat next to Beckett; who was in between them. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she leaned towards him, and they were quiet, watching the door and trying to stay awake as time slid into the hour mark since he himself had gotten to the waiting room. At one point he felt Beckett relax against him, and looked to her to see that she was asleep.

"How is she?" Jim asked, looking over and seeing his daughter's face had lost its stressed expression.

"Worried, incredibly worried, and angry at herself for not being able to do anything else for Julia besides bring her here," Castle commented, rubbing her upper arm gently. "Hopefully once she sees Julia she'll stop thinking that." Beckett's dad nodded, but as he looked down into his empty cup, he couldn't help but understand what she was feeling, since he had started going through something similar in his own mind. At one point Jim excused himself and when they were alone he groaned slightly in frustration, inadvertently waking up his fiancée. "Oh, sorry Kate, go back to sleep," he said when she sat up.

"No, I'm fine," Beckett said, looking at her watch. She stood up and walked around in a circle to stretch her legs before she looked at Castle, seeing he was looking at his hands. "What is it?" she asked him as she stopped in front of him.

"I…" Castle started to say. He was going to say nothing, but then decided it was a little unfair to her to do that so he sighed and said, "I should have been there."

"We're not living together Castle," Beckett said, knowing as soon as he'd said that that he was feeling guilty. "And there wouldn't have been anything you could have done either. The best thing you did was answer my call and come here as soon as you could."

"Like I would have stayed home," Castle said, standing up himself. "You think I would have just let you handle this on your own?"

"No, which is why I am glad you came. But you don't need to feel guilty about not being at my place tonight," Beckett said.

"I plan on moving in you know," Castle said. "While she needs to recover."

"I know," Beckett said. "But is that because you want to be with us or you're procrastinating with your writing again?"

Castle didn't answer that, and instead said, "We'll need to watch out though, I'm sure the boys and Lanie are going to want to see her."

"I want to see her," Beckett said, looking at her watch again.

"Nothing yet?" Jim asked as he approached the two.

Before Castle or Beckett could respond to that, the door to the wing opened, and a doctor stepped out asking for her.

"I'm Julia's mother," Beckett said quickly, rushing to him. "Is she okay?"

"She's doing fine, she's still out from the anesthesia, but the surgery went well and she should recover," the doctor said. He then told Beckett what she needed to feed her daughter while she was recovering and the medicines that were next to Julia's bed already since the pharmacy was closed. "And it's best to let her rest as long as possible once you get her home. We'll expect her back for a follow up of course."

"Of course, can we see her?" Beckett asked.

Looking at Castle, the doctor then nodded and said, "I'll release her into your care once she's awake so you'll need to wait."

"That's fine," Castle said as he followed Beckett and Jim through the door. They walked down a long line of empty beds before they came to one that was closed off with curtains. When he stepped inside the makeshift room, he saw Julia; tiny in the bed; her eyes closed and looking peaceful.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Beckett didn't bother to fight the tears in her eyes, and she ran her hand over her daughter's hair, kissing her forehead tenderly. She was surprised to feel the fever had already started to go down, and she let out a little sigh of relief before whispering, "I love you so much sweetie," though she knew Julia couldn't hear her.

Leaning over on the other side of the bed, Jim kissed the top of his granddaughter's head, and watched Beckett, seeing she seemed to be a lot more relieved. He looked over to Castle, and saw he was going to the other side of the bed.

Taking Julia's little hand that was over the sheets covering her, Castle leaned over when Beckett moved over a little to let him do so. He kissed her forehead as Beckett had done, but didn't say anything, squeezing her hand before he let his fiancée sit as she'd been before. He sat on the edge of the bed with her as Jim took the chair next to the other side, and they began their vigil, none of them even thinking about sleep as they waited for her to open her eyes.

At one point, Beckett suddenly shook herself, and she stood, reaching into her pocket, pulling out Julia's emerald necklace. "Here," she told Castle softly. "She couldn't wear this into surgery."

Castle carefully put the necklace back around the little girl's neck and as he pulled away, realized she was moving her legs a little. "Kate," he said, getting out of the way for her to lean over Julia.

It took another couple of seconds, but when Julia opened her eyes slowly, she saw her mother, Castle and grandfather peering down at her and she smiled slightly before trying to speak before she grabbed her throat at the pain that caused.

"It's okay sweetie," Beckett said quickly. "You're not really going to be able to speak for a little bit. So you don't have to say anything okay? Are you feeling better at all?"

Julia didn't reply to that with a gesture, only held her arms out to her mother.

"Can you get the doctor?" Beckett said as she picked her daughter up carefully and held her in her arms.  
"I'll get him," Jim said, seeing Castle looked to be a little torn at the request.

Kissing the side of Julia's head, Castle smiled when she looked at him, her eyes looking huge in her slightly withdrawn face. "Pretty late for you I think," he said as he pulled some of her hair over her shoulder. He and Beckett looked up as the doctor came in, and they had to step back once Julia was back in the bed, watching as he looked her over.

"You can take her home now. Rest is the most important thing," the doctor told them. "She'll be groggy for now, but will recover soon. Remember, minimal talking, ask her yes or no questions if at all possible."

"Thank you," Beckett said, taking Julia's jacket that had been next to her medicine. She helped the little girl into it as best she could before carrying her out of the wing with Castle and her dad following her. Down on the ground floor, she stopped by the sliding doors and turned to the two men. "Are you going with us or heading home?" she asked her dad.

"I'll go home, but I'll be by sometime tomorrow to check on how Julia's doing," Jim said, leaning over and kissing his granddaughter's cheek. "Get some sleep Julia, you'll feel better."

Julia waved to him before he left, and then looked up at Castle, starting to wave to him before he stopped her hand.

"I'm staying with you and your mom while you're sick okay?" he told her, kissing her fingers as she smiled for a second. "Let's get her home," he said to Beckett when Julia pressed closer to her mother, holding her as tightly as her body allowed her to. He walked out to the street and hailed a cab, which luckily stopped quickly for them. On the ride to Beckett's he reached over for Julia, and took her in his arms, holding her like he'd done for Alexis when she was a little girl and sick.

Beckett ran her hand up and down Castle's arm as she watched him murmuring to the little girl, who was soon fast asleep, leaning against him. She paid for the ride before he could say anything, and led him into her building. When they stepped into the hall on her floor, she could feel her exhaustion starting to work on her, and she felt almost like she was dreaming as a door opened and a man leaned out.

Looking at the man, Castle saw him looking at him, and then hurriedly duck back inside the apartment. He wanted to comment about that since the look on the guy's face made him think he was either trying to sneak an escort in or out of his apartment and had found them there instead of an empty hallway, but they had turned the corner and were at her door before he could say a word. "She doesn't need anything now right?" he asked her in a whisper as he carried Julia into her room.

"Not until morning," Beckett said, taking Julia's jacket off as he held the little girl so she could do so. She stood back as he laid their daughter on the bed once she'd straightened out the covers, and then leaned over, kissing her lips gently whispering, "I love you Julia, sweet, sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams Julia, I love you too," Castle said, running his hand over her hair and kissing her forehead and then lips before stepping back. He wasn't surprised when Beckett stayed where she was, and he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her as they watched their daughter sleep before he finally whispered to her, "We should go Kate, we need some rest too."

Nodding, Beckett turned and they left the room, going into hers. "A little weird to think when I first got into bed tonight I had no idea what was going to happen," she commented as she changed back into her pajamas as Castle changed into the ones he kept there.

"Are you okay?" he asked, watching her closely.

"Pretty much, tired and wondering what I'll do while she recovers," Beckett said. She climbed into bed and turned her back to Castle, relieved when he lay behind her as soon as he had joined her. "You're sure you want to move in?" she asked him after he'd reached over her to turn the light off on her nightstand.

"I'll go crazy not making sure she's okay," Castle said simply. "And you too."

"Don't remind me," Beckett sighed, shivering as he kissed the skin under her ear. "I was tired though and-"

"Just being a mother," Castle told her soothingly. "There's nothing wrong with showing emotion Kate, don't try and fight it."

"It worries me though that you weren't really-" Beckett began.

"I was concerned about you too," Castle said quickly. "So I had to bury what I was feeling to make sure you were okay."

"Hmm, except for the guilt," Beckett said, turning to face him. "That's why you're staying? And please answer this time."

"Not really, I just want to make sure she gets better," Castle said. "Speaking of mothers, Mother's Day is coming up; this Sunday."

"As you've insisted on reminding me," Beckett said.

"What, you don't want to be reminded? It's the first time you're celebrating," Castle commented, reminding her that she hadn't celebrated it the year before since she'd been getting used to having a daughter.

Sighing, as she also remembered with that that it had been a year since Julia had come into their lives, Beckett said, "I know, but as far as Julia knows, we've celebrated it before. So…"

"Don't think I'm going to keep saying it's your first. But are you sure there's nothing special you want to do?" Castle asked.

"All I want is to spend the day with my daughter," Beckett said. "And if your mom will let you, you too."

"I'm sure she'll want to do something on her own," Castle said. "But you know, I was thinking of something."

"Stop saying something, what's your idea?" Beckett asked, shaking herself from falling asleep.

"We can take Julia out to a museum, I was thinking the art museum," Castle said. "If she's feeling better of course. And from there we head into the park and have a picnic lunch."

"From Bernoulli's?" Beckett asked with a slight smile since that was a favorite café of hers.

"Of course, it's right across the street from the park," Castle said. "So what do you think? I mean, the art museum is an idea, it's going to be Mother's Day, so you can decide in the end."

"I'll have to agree, Julia's been asking me to take her there again," Beckett said. "I'm going to guess you too?"

"Yep, she tried to get me to promise I'd take you both that way she goes, but I said I'd suggest it to you," Castle said. "I don't need her thinking she can use me to get around what you say."

"We'll have to watch her on that," Beckett said, smiling slightly since he looked a little bemused that Julia had done that. "But that's the first time right?"

"Yeah, we're very lucky," Castle said exaggeratedly. "But I made sure when she asked me to do that that she understood you and I both needed to agree, not just one of us."

"Did you ever need to do that with Alexis?" Beckett asked.

"No, because apparently I really didn't let Gina be much of a stepmother to her," Castle said. "And Alexis was older so it's not really the same situation."

"Since you're Julia's father, I'll agree," Beckett said. "Was your mom awake before you left?"

"No, I'll have to call her in the morning, Alexis too," Castle said. "She's going to hate not being able to see her."

"I know, but we do have Skype," Beckett reminded him. She saw him yawn and then reached up, cupping his face in her hand. "Thank you for coming to the hospital so quickly."

"There was never a question of me taking my time," Castle said firmly, taking her hand in his. He kissed the palm before saying, "Thanks for calling me."

"I don't know if we need to thank each other actually," Beckett said. "She is our daughter." She was a little surprised when Castle exhaled loudly and asked, "What?"

"No just… I kind of wish we were living together, it would make it more… I guess the word I want to use is real, or legit, either one," he explained.

"I know, but as it is, it's real enough to me," Beckett said. "Get some sleep Castle."

Nodding, to both things she'd said, he leaned down then and kissed her, pleased when she quickly responded to him. Castle held her tightly against his body until they finally stopped kissing one another; parting and kissing again a number of times; and he fixed the covers around them.

"I love you," Beckett said in the darkness as he held her to him.

"I love you too," Castle replied, kissing her lips tenderly.

Closing her eyes, Beckett couldn't lose the tension from knowing her daughter was still unwell, but the exhaustion of the night took over and she was asleep. In the second she had before she nodded off she had to wonder how things were going to go, and what would happen with her and Castle acting very much the worried parents to their daughter, together.


	2. Can't Close My Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2, from their album War.

Opening the apartment door, the young man looked around and seeing that the room was empty, hurried inside and set down the vase of flowers on the coffee table. He went into the kitchen next, trying to open the champagne bottle he had as quietly as possible. But the cork still made a loud pop in the silent room, and he flinched, waiting for a yell or a voice.

When there was no response, he breathed out and poured out the liquid into two glasses, getting a tray to put a plate and some pastries before adding the two glasses and a few roses from the bouquet that he'd brought in. Picking up the tray, he then walked to the door to the only bedroom in the apartment. "Ophelia, I brought some champagne and those pastries from the German bakery you love," he called, knocking on it gently to make sure he didn't scare her. He got no response, so he opened the door to what his girlfriend had turned into a parlor to her bedroom. He paused, seeing that there was a pile of fabric strips on the floor, and some white flower petals on and around it. "Ophelia?" he asked, walking over to it.

There was still no answer, and kicking the fabric, the man realized it was the same pattern as a pair of pajamas his girlfriend had. He became concerned and walked to the door leading to the bedroom, ignoring the fact that he still was encumbered by the tray. Not bothering to knock, he pushed the door open, and his first thought was that he had suddenly stepped outside.

The room was covered in trees that were real as were the blossoms on the branches that brushed against the young man's face. He pushed them out of his way and looked around, seeing the bed was occupied. "Ophelia?" he asked slowly, seeing that she wasn't moving. Going to the edge his eyes widened and he yelled before ran for the phone out in the kitchen as he threw the tray on the floor without thinking about the glass that shattered at his feet. As he ran he could see imprinted in his mind the thin line of red on his girlfriend's pale neck, blood making trails of tears from the mark, the color matching the symbol drawn in her own blood directly above her heart.


	3. Flowers In The Dirt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is the title of Paul McCartney's album, also a lyric from the song That Day is Done by Paul and Declan MacManus (Elvis Costello), from Paul's album the same name as the title of this chapter.

"Castle… Castle, wake up," the voice cut into his sleep. Shaking his head, Castle opened his eyes and looked up into his fiancée's eyes. "What is it… Julia-"

"She's fine, I checked on her before I came back," Beckett said before she kissed him on the lips. When he responded she pulled away and said, "And I called the station, I have the week off." She kissed him a second time and kept it quick to say, "And called Julia's school."

Stopping her before she could lean down to kiss him again, Castle studied the look on her face, and nodded saying, "So everything's set?"

"Everything's set," Beckett said before she sat up when he started to. Together they pulled up her shirt she'd worn for pajamas and after that it was a little bit of a scramble until she was the first one naked. It took a short amount of time after that for her fiancé to join her in that state, and once he was, she straddled his legs, but had turned away from him while he'd been tossing aside the last of his clothing. She waited a brief instant to make sure he realized what she was doing, and as soon as he had, she grasped him in her hand.

Hissing a little at the touch, Castle was quick to grab her hips, watching as he sank slowly into her. With her moving at that pace; plus the look in her eyes; he had a feeling that things were not going to continue as simple as that. And he was proven right as she began to move roughly on him, speeding up without any warning to him. While she was doing that, he grabbed her body, pulling her back to lean against him before he reached up and cupped his hands over her breasts.

Beckett couldn't really explain her sudden desire when she'd woken up, but was glad that she hadn't needed to do that when he had woken up. She reached up to his hands, squeezing them before she wrapped her arms around his neck behind her. She had a pretty good view of him then, as he used his fingers then to rub along her nipples, dragging out into a wider circle around them. The sensation was much the same as his touch always left behind, a trail of fire that made her move faster and harder on him. She reached with one hand to brush her hair away from her face, and hoped that everything wasn't going to her as she suddenly needed him to feel the same as she did.

A little startled when Beckett suddenly stopped and turned around, Castle had little time to recover as she lowered herself onto him yet again, and began to move. But that time, instead of going in an up and down motion, she rocked back and forth. He grunted slightly at the first time she did that, and then wrapped his hands around the small of her back as he was quick to move with her at the same pace. His breathing became heavier as he looked down in between them, watching intently where their bodies were coupled together.

Nearly trembling at the forceful look in Castle's eyes as he watched them, Beckett finally sat up straight and cupped his face in her hands, pulling him to her lips. As they were kissing each other deeply, she took his hands and once she managed to pull away from him, leaned down to kiss at his fingertips. His groan each time her lips touched his skin sent a thrill through her, and she looked into his eyes for a split second before they moved towards each other at the exact same time.

Their kiss was heavy and feverish, and they were clutching at each other tightly as their hands roamed over one another. When they parted to breathe they found themselves moving quicker and more intensely, and they kept their lips close enough to taste each other's breath. They stayed like that for some time, until Beckett broke their moment, reaching for the back of his head.

Led to her breast, Castle took the nipple eagerly into his mouth, lightly sucking on it for a few seconds before he pulled away and flicked his tongue out to the very tip. The short cry that Beckett gave when he did that immensely satisfying and he then proceeded to kiss around it, ending with his mouth going in between and to her other breast to do the same. He was a little surprised that his fiancée wasn't trying to control him, but she then pulled him back to her nipple he'd been at first off, and he complied, taking it back into his mouth to suckle at it a little fervently as she moaned deeply above his head. His hands were free, so he reached down in between them with one hand, and proceeded to carefully stimulate her swollen nub.

The instant his fingers were on her, Beckett tensed up, a little surprised at the sudden burst of pleasure that resulted from that. It seemed to travel up her body to her breasts where Castle still was, and for a moment she froze, pushing against him hard. She felt him lean up to press a kiss to her chin and then jaw, going back to her breasts, and she tried to get back to her rhythm she'd had before. It took a little time, since Castle's hand was not stopping, but finally she had it, and she made him tilt his head back to look at her once she did, caressing his cheeks tenderly in stark contrast to how they were both moving.

Raising his own hands to take hers, Castle entwined them together once they were off his face. He lowered them and put them behind her, bringing him closer to her face, and he nipped at her lower lip before they slid into another kiss. They were slower, and a lot more relaxed, but it was no less sensuous than before, and when they parted, they were almost panting from the exertion of it. He drifted his lips over her cheek and then up to her ear, only ghosting them over her skin as she trembled against him in response. It was then he let her go, going back to kiss her firmly on the lips as they concentrated on their thrusts together. He reached back in between them with one hand, and rubbed at the apex of her legs yet again, feeling her arch her back and clench at the one hand he was holding still tightly.

Beckett wasn't bothering to stop expressing her pleasure vocally, the sudden need for him that had come up as she'd awoken was being sated, but she wasn't feeling like she had had enough. When he suddenly let go of her hand, she had to recover, and as she did so, his fingers were tangling through her hair on the back of her head, holding her still so they were looking into each other's eyes again. Panting heavily as she could see his own desire, she tried to lean over to kiss him, but instead he moved to her ear and whispered to her. Immediately in response she gave him her hand, and he was moving it down in between them. Their fingers were a little bit of a mix then, and she tried to keep up with how many times there was a switch on her very much swollen nub. Finally it became too much, and her body tensed, freezing for an instant before she arched her back, crying out his name repeatedly before he was holding her against him with both hands, groaning her own name as she realized he'd quickly joined her.

Moving with Beckett the best he could; since they'd both become very erratic; Castle breathed out heavily when they finally slowed down and then stopped a little longer after that. He could feel the perspiration on her skin, and he nuzzled her neck as she leaned against him. "Any reason?" he asked when his panting wasn't getting in the way of words.

"Not really, I just wanted you," Beckett said in a very matter of fact tone of voice.

"Great," Castle said. "Me too. Once I woke up of course." And with that said he helped her off his lap and down on the bed where they lay together before he kissed her temple as she had her cheek pressed to his shoulder. "Should we get up?"

"We're going to need to," Beckett sighed. "I need you to do me a favor since you need to get some clothes for your stay right?"

"Yes, but before you tell me…" Castle said, not really wanting to get up and end enjoying the quiet moment between them. He kissed her after he trailed off, relieved when she responded to him. He had to wonder though if they were going to be putting that on hold as they then focused on Julia. But he didn't need to ask it, as he had a feeling they both wanted the same thing. Beckett's hand on his cheek shook him from his thoughts, and he pulled away to press his forehead against hers. "Okay?"

"I'm fine, just needed a second," she told him. She breathed out and said, "But you're right, we should get ready and I need to take a shower. And I'll need to give her some medicine soon."

"We should do that now," Castle said as he helped her up off the bed.

"Together?" Beckett asked.

Castle didn't say a word to that, and instead led her into her shower, closing the door behind him before he turned on the water. "Tell me to stop Kate," he warned her as he brushed his lips over the top of her shoulder to her quick jerk against him.

"I never would you know," Beckett whispered to him. She smiled when he looked at her, and closed her eyes as he leaned down to her lips.

They kissed deeply before standing under the water, washing away their sweat from their previous exertions as they ran their hands over each other's bodies; only to be shortly replaced by more as Castle's hands ran down her back and to her ass. The steam from the water fogged their vision then as he leaned her back against the wall before sliding down her form to his knees.

* * *

"Good morning sweetie," Beckett said, opening the blinds in Julia's room. She smiled as her daughter slowly opened her eyes and she leaned over to check on her, kissing her forehead tenderly. "Hmm, your fever has gone down a little more. Do you want to get up?" At her daughter's nod she helped her up and said, "You don't need to go to school today, so you can wear whatever you want; even your pajamas." She laughed softly as Julia's eyes went wide and said, "Do you want to wear those?"

Julia nodded her head, at the same time opening her mouth to speak before she remembered how much it had hurt to do so the last time she'd tried.

"Why don't you try to whisper?" Beckett asked, knowing what she'd been about to do. "And just try yes or no because you don't need to talk full sentences yet. Do you want to wear your pajamas?"

"Yes," Julia managed to say, smiling at that achievement before she waited for her mother to get another pair of patterned pajamas. "Mommy," she whispered, that word easier for her to say as well. When Beckett looked at her she grabbed her mother's hand and pointed to the engagement ring that she was wearing.

"Where's Castle?" Beckett asked, guessing that was what her daughter was indicating. When Julia nodded she said, "He went to get some things for you for breakfast. But he'll be back. Let's get you changed, and we'll watch something together until he does."

Once her mother had gotten her dressed and in her robe, Julia went out to the living room and sat on the couch, holding her Stitch doll to her tightly. She became a little lonely, and set the doll down to sit in her place before she ran back to her room.

"You shouldn't run sweetie," Beckett said, hearing her daughter's slippers hitting against the floor outside the room. She turned in time for Julia to throw her arms around her. She was a little surprised at how much energy she had, and became worried it was too much. "Here, I'm finished," she told her as she picked Julia up. "So let's start a movie together." Carrying her back out, she wasn't too surprised when the little girl leaned against her, the running seeming to have tired her out. "This is why you're not going to school," she told her as she set Julia down at the shelf with her DVDs on them.

Instead of replying to that, the little girl only pressed her cheek against her mother's before Beckett turned her attention to picking out a movie. She randomly picked out the two _Despicable Me_ movies, and sat on her mother's lap as they began the first one when ten minutes later, the door was being unlocked and she looked over to see who it was as Beckett straightened up behind her.

"Hey, you're up," Castle said as he came into the apartment and saw Julia and Beckett on the couch.

"I let her sleep a little longer after you left," she replied then as Julia climbed down from the couch with her help. She walked after their daughter and smiled as Castle scooped Julia up into his arms before kissing her cheek. "And these?" she asked, motioning to the roses on the counter, already in a vase.

"From me to you Julia," Castle said, nuzzling his nose against hers to the little girl's giggle. "Since you're sick, I thought you might like some flowers. Did I pick a good bouquet?"

Nodding Julia tried to say thank you, but grabbed her throat before she could get the sound out of her mouth.

"Easy," Beckett said, stepping up to them and kissing Julia's cheek. "Just say yes and no okay?"

"If you want to say thank you again; because you'll be getting some visitors today," Castle said. "Then just do this," he showed her the thank you sign. "Try it… you're very welcome," he told her when she was able to do it. He hugged her and then handed her to her mother saying, "I need another one, no, not from you sweetheart, your mom," he continued quickly when Julia tried to kiss his cheek.

"Why am I thanking you?" Beckett asked as Castle looked at her expectantly. But before he could react to that, she pulled on the lapel of his jacket, and brought him close enough to her lips. Since she was holding their daughter, it was a quick kiss, but enough for the moment. "Alright, do you want to keep watching the movie while we get your breakfast ready?" she asked Julia. When she shook her head no, she turned to Castle and said, "We might as well show her what you got."

"So you can approve of it?" he asked.

"Basically," was all Beckett said in response.

"Okay, so we have ice cream," Castle said once she'd put Julia on the counter. "Some Neapolitan or as you call it the small rainbow, some Popsicles which your mom recommended, Jell-O and a lot of soups. What are we making her for breakfast?"

"I'll take care of breakfast," Beckett said. "You two continue the movie."

Julia shook her head wildly as her mother tried to hand her over to Castle, both of them making her stop, and she pointed to them before shaking her head slowly.

"I think she wants us to watch it with her," Castle commented.

"I got that too, then just get her things to color," Beckett said. "And then we'll eat." She watched as he carried Julia over to the door, and smiled, shaking her head as he was telling her about going to the flower shop and having guessed what Lanie, Ryan, Esposito and his mother would be bringing to her. She glanced at the orange roses, wondering if he knew one thing they meant; pride in the person they being given to. Looking back over to the door, she knew he already did, and she took the vase to set it on the coffee table, reminding herself to tell their daughter that when she had the chance.

* * *

"Okay Julia, let's try this again," Castle was saying as he brought the spoon to the little girl's lips. When she turned her head he said, "Please sweetheart, you need to take this so your throat will feel better." He gave up when she shook her head, and moved the spoon away from her.

"I'm guessing she's not being cooperative," Beckett said, walking out from her room to them.

"Not really, you want to take a stab at it, you are a detective," Castle said, holding out the spoon to her. He was surprised when she shook her head and instead sat on the couch next to him, taking their daughter on her lap.

"Sweetie, I know you don't want take that but I promise you it's only for a second, and we'll let you have a Popsicle after okay?" Beckett said as she hugged Julia to her tightly.

Frowning for a moment, Julia looked at Castle and then opened her mouth for him to feed her the medicine. She shuddered as she swallowed it, and relaxed against her mother as first Beckett and then Castle kissed her cheek.

"Okay, so now we've got that set," he said as he went to the kitchen to leave the spoon and get the Popsicle for Julia. "What's next? A nap?"

"Not yet, I was thinking we could go through that origami book that Alexis sent her," Beckett said, not surprised when Julia nodded her head eagerly.

"I'll be right back," Castle said, going to Julia's room. Before he could get too far though, he heard Beckett's phone ring and stopped, going back to her. "Esposito?" he said, seeing the screen. "They do know you're off right?"

"They should," Beckett said before she answered. "What is it Javi?"

"Sorry about calling you, but we talked to Gates and she's asking for your help on this one," Esposito said. "But first, how's Julia?" he asked after Ryan whispered to him.

"She's fine, resting right now. But Gates wants mine and Castle's help?" Beckett asked.

"Well… she didn't mention Castle," Esposito said as Castle rolled his eyes. "But yeah, if you can give him a call then we could use his help, because this one is pretty freaky."

"Do you want me to come to the station," Beckett said, in her mind telling herself she was only going to consult on the case since she did have to take care of Julia.

"No, we were planning on heading out to see our _sobrina_ ; Lanie too; so we'll head over in about a half hour if that's okay," Esposito explained.

"Come on over, I was going to call Martha and Castle to tell them about Julia so I'll ask him to come to help," Beckett replied. She hung up and said, "Do you need to do anything?"

"First I need to get some more flowers," Castle said. "And also have my mom come over."

"She said she'd come over after lunch and-" Beckett started to say before a familiar knock at the door interrupted her. "Never mind, come in Dad," she called. "How come you're not at work?" she asked him.

"It's pretty slow today, and everyone at the firm was understanding," Jim said as he walked up to his daughter and hugged her. "A number of them have kids and grandkids. Hello Julia," he said as he turned to his granddaughter. "How are you? Okay?" When the little girl shrugged he looked up at Beckett in slight concern.

"She just had some medicine, so it'll take a while for that Popsicle to cheer her up," Castle said.

Julia, listening to the adults, touched the flower on the bouquet that her grandfather was holding, smiling happily at the white blooms.

"These are for you," Jim said, suddenly reminded of what he was carrying. "I know she likes roses, but thought you and Castle would be getting those for her."

"He got those," Beckett said, taking the vase of orchids her father held. "But they are beautiful."

Tugging on his coat sleeve, Julia made the thank you gesture when he looked at her, and then reached up until he picked her up for a hug.

"Dad," Beckett then said. "I just got a call from Esposito before you came, and they want me and Castle to consult with the case they have."

"Do you need me to watch her now?" Jim asked, kissing Julia's temple.

"No, but in the future we might need you to," Beckett said, watching as Julia held her arms out to Castle.

"I'm available, and if not I'm sure Martha will watch her," Jim said.

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock on the door, and Castle went with Julia, as he already knew who it was.

"Richard, you didn't even bother to look," Martha jokingly scolded her son. "Oh darling, how are you?" she said, taking Julia from him before he could reply to her. She handed him a bouquet of daffodils, and hugged the little girl tightly, kissing her on the cheek. "Are you feeling better than last night?" she asked, looking at her to see Julia nod her head.

"Thank you for the flowers Martha," Beckett said, smiling as Castle's mother went straight to her.

"And are you okay, I know the first time your child goes through such an emergency can be difficult," Martha said, hugging her with one arm.

"Oh, I'm doing a lot better than last night myself," Beckett said, smiling briefly at Castle who was watching her. She shook her head infinitesimally at his expression, knowing he was thinking about that morning, and then turned her attention to Martha. "I was just talking with my dad about this case that Esposito and Ryan got, they'd like my help and Castle's so-"

"I would be happy to watch her if you need me to," Martha said. "And from taking care of Richard and Alexis when they were sick I know exactly what we could do," she told Julia then.

"Thank you so much," Beckett said meaningfully. "But I'm really going to try not to get too involved; I want to be here for Julia."

"Me too," Castle said as he walked over to them once he'd set the daffodils on the counter with the orchids. "What?" he asked when his mother and Beckett's dad looked away from them at that.

"I'd like to see that," Martha said simply. "But I'll be free to watch her."

"So will I," Jim said simply.

"Would you like us to go before they arrive?" Martha then asked.

"No, that's alright, you can stay, actually, and take care of her for us then," Beckett said. "And… Castle?"

"Oh, right, I'll be back," he said when he looked at his watch after Beckett had looked at hers. He had five minutes then to get out to get more flowers, so he hurried over to Julia and hugged her tightly. "I'll be right back, and I'm bringing some pretty flowers again okay?"

Nodding, Julia watched her mother and Castle walk to the door together, talking quickly. She smiled when they kissed gently at the door, turning away when Martha and her grandfather asked about the pictures she'd drawn while waiting for breakfast.

* * *

"Come on in guys," Beckett said, opening the door to the boys and Lanie. "She's on the couch," she told them as they walked inside but stopped in the entry. She walked after them to the couch but before she could get too far, there was another knock at the door. "Good timing," she murmured before stepping aside to let him inside.

"So how is she doing?" Castle asked as they joined the others at the couch.

"She's doing pretty well, Lanie?" Beckett asked as her friend was sitting on the couch with Julia.

"You want me to check her throat?" Lanie asked in slight amusement.

"No, just, is she okay fever wise," Beckett said simply.

"She is, and with her being so active, you came out of your surgery great," Lanie told Julia who smiled a little. "But, you still need to rest okay?"

"These are for her," Ryan said as he set down the two vases he'd been carrying down on the coffee table. "Pretty roses."

"I got those for her," Beckett said simply. "But thank you guys for… your flowers, sweetie?" she said, faltering when she saw the bouquet that Castle had gotten for Julia that time.

Making the thank you gesture a few times, Julia touched one of the white tulips in the vase that Castle had brought, and then touched the delphinium; not realizing it was that flower that had made her mother hesitate.

"Dad, Martha, would you mind taking her to her room? She needs a nap soon," Beckett said. "I'll come in to kiss you goodnight sweetie."

"Okay, so, the call came in at about seven this morning, a Joseph Haskell was coming in to surprise his girlfriend with a morning brunch before they needed to go to work. But when he went into the outer room of her bedroom," Ryan explained as they went to Beckett's desk once Julia was out of hearing range. "He found her clothes, cut into strips on the floor with some flower petals," he set down a crime scene photo of that before he let Esposito tell them the rest.

"And when he walked into the bedroom itself, he found this," the detective said, setting down another picture.

"A forest?" Castle asked, seeing the trees and blooms along the walls.

"And it was real," Lanie said. "You could smell the flowers and then there's the vic herself."

"Meet Ophelia Meyer, a twenty-nine year old accountant," Ryan said as Castle and Beckett looked down at the picture Esposito laid out of a young woman laying on a bed that was covered in white flower petals, white flowers in a wreath around her head.

Beckett found herself a little surprised as Esposito laid out more pictures of different angles of the bed, and then said, "The vic herself?" He didn't respond, only put down another picture, and she saw the victim's neck, and then the symbol on her chest.

"That's pretty incredible," Castle said, seeing the way the vic was dressed, a thin white dress that looked more like a nightgown. "Did she know how to play the harp?"

"I talked to her parents, and she didn't," Ryan said, shaking his head.

"So it's part of a ritual maybe? The harp was from ancient times and judging by her… dress or whatever you want to call it, it's a pagan murder," Castle said. He made a face and said, "That's an insult to pagans though, I withdraw that… was she a pagan? Maybe someone killed her for believing in more than one god."

"We ran this by the FBI, to see if there were any other murders similar to this, but nothing that matched this level of staging," Esposito said. "They also don't think it was a hate crime, she was Jewish."

"There's something that bothers me though," Beckett said, having been looking at the picture of the symbol on the vic's chest. "Was this found anywhere else on her body?"

"I have the body down at the morgue, but wanted to help them fill you in, in case they forgot any details," Lanie said. "With the bruising around her neck as you can see, she was obviously strangled; likely with a garrote."

"Then it's mob related," Castle said. "She maybe stole money or saw something she shouldn't have, and there was a need to take care of her."

"That's one theory we thought you might have," Ryan said, looking at Esposito who handed him a bill.

"But the staging," Beckett pointed out. "I've never seen a mob hit or murder with this."

"What is it?" Castle asked, discarding his mob theory easily as he could see his fiancée was troubled.

"This symbol is bothering me, what about her hands?" Beckett asked.

"I checked while I was still at the crime scene," Lanie said, handing her a picture.

" _Om_ ," Beckett and Castle said at the same time when they saw the symbol.

"What's that? We contacted the FBI about those two symbols but they haven't gotten back to us yet," Esposito said.

" _Om_ , it's said at the beginning of a mantra or prayer in Hinduism, Buddhism and I think Jainism as well," Castle explained. "For Hinduism it's said at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas, a sacred text for their religion."

"And George Harrison had it on his album covers," Beckett said. "I've said it myself when I used to try and meditate, it channels your energy," she said, touching the palm of her hand in a motion similar to the symbol. She saw her partners and Lanie were looking at her; Castle just watching since he already knew she did that; and said, "It's a personal thing; I used to do that to slow my breathing and relax. But here on the body of a victim…" before trailing off and looking at her fiancé.

"Something you want to share?" Lanie asked.

"Well, there's something else about _Om_ ," Castle said. "I'm guessing you know about this too?" he directed to Beckett.

"Yes, but… it's not supposed to be meant in that way," she replied. She turned to the other three and then said, "It's also used at the end of an invocation to a god, to invite them to come and also partake of what's being sacrificed to them."

"So is this related to the Hindu religion?" Ryan asked, pointing to the symbol on the vic's chest.

"I've never come across that," Castle said, glancing at Beckett who shook her head.

"If you find any other symbols Lanie," she then said to her friend. "Let me know, I have a feeling they're important."

"I'll let Espo or Ryan know, you're only a consultant Kate, and shouldn't you be tucking your daughter in for her nap?" the doctor asked.

"And after she's asleep? I can take a look at this case if you'll just copy those pictures for me," Beckett said.

"Then you need backup for that," Lanie said quickly.

"What? Me? I was going to head to the station and help you two out," Castle said when she looked at him.

"I think we're fine bro," Esposito said. "You can help Beckett here, at least keep her from forgetting about her-"

"Go," Beckett said in annoyance. "And Castle, you're a grown man… part of the time, decide where you want to go."

"He'll stay, and these are copies," Ryan said simply since Lanie was giving him and Esposito looks.

"Yeah, and we'll call you about anything else," Esposito said. "Tell Julia we hope she gets better soon."

Before she or Castle could say another word, the three of them had left, and Beckett turned to her fiancé saying, "I really thought she'd given up."

"She can surprise you when she's that determined," Castle commented. "So are we going to work on this?"

"Definitely, I can't let this go after seeing these pictures, and neither can you," Beckett said. "For now though, let's say goodnight to Julia, and then we'll come back to this…"

"What?" Castle asked, watching her get her phone from the coffee table.

"Time of death," Beckett said simply. "Lanie? Yeah, I'm just wondering what time you got for- oh, that long? Did they talk to the boyfriend? They did, okay, I'll call them later." She then sighed in exasperation and said, "He's still here, we're going to get started on the case right away, thank you Lanie."

"So, how about you lead with what she said in answer to your first question," Castle said once his fiancée had hung up the phone.

"She'd been dead for almost twelve to fourteen hours," Beckett said. "So that gives us between five and seven yesterday."

"Have to ask the boys about a canvas, there had to have been some noise," Castle said.

"And if there was any sign of a break in," Beckett said. "Though I'm sure if the boyfriend got in without noticing then there wasn't. And I know he's a suspect, I have to ask them about his alibi," she said quickly when Castle was about to speak.

"Katie?" Jim said from the doorway. "Julia's barely able to stay awake."

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry Dad, the case really took my attention," Beckett said, having forgotten for a moment that Julia wasn't already asleep. She hurried with Castle into her room, and smiled as Martha was trying to keep the little girl awake. "I'm sorry sweetie; I had to talk with your uncles and aunt." She kissed Julia's cheek tenderly and whispered, "Time for a little nap okay?"

"Sweet dreams Julia," Castle said, kissing her cheek before he watched Beckett set her into bed.

"Sleep okay? You don't have to get up if you don't want to. And remember your aunt said you should rest," Beckett admonished Julia tenderly as she handed her her Stitch doll. She leaned down and shared a kiss with her daughter, sitting on the edge of the bed to make sure she fell asleep. She then felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see it was Castle. She took his hand and they left the room, joining their parents in the hall where she closed the door. "You didn't have something you needed to do did you?" she asked as they walked out to the living room.

"I need to head back to work, but not right away," Jim said. "So I wasn't in a hurry. I'd better go though, since there's not much I can do while she's asleep."

"Thanks for coming though Dad," Beckett said as she walked him to the door, surprised when Martha and Castle followed them. "And again for the flowers."

"Tell her I'll stop by tomorrow if I don't have anything too pressing at work," Jim told his daughter as he hugged her. "And take care of her."

"I will," Beckett said, knowing he knew she would. "Are you leaving too?" she asked Martha as she turned around.

"I am, it's better we let Julia sleep," she replied. "And again, if you need me, give me a call."

"I will, thanks for the flowers and stopping by Martha," Beckett said. She closed the door once Castle's mother was out of sight and turned to him. "So I guess we're getting started on the case?"

"What, you wanted to do something else? A nap too?" Castle asked, following her over to her desk.

"Not really," Beckett said simply. "But I have something we can use to help us."

Following her, Castle watched as she turned her screen of her computer around and opened up a program he recognized. "I told you that would be of use to you at some point," he said, since he used the same thing to outline his books. When she didn't respond, and instead began to type on the screen he said, "I see you got a new toy."

"Not a toy Castle," Beckett said simply, picking up the pictures they had. "Scan these for me."

"So we're making a murder board?" Castle asked.

"Pretty much," Beckett said. "Though again, I'm not planning on getting too involved in this case."

"To tell you the truth, I get the feeling we'll end up working on it," Castle commented as he began to scan the first picture.

"I know, but we need to stay with her most of the time," Beckett said. She then dragged some of the pictures that appeared on her screen to the murder board, and began typing out different notes from what they knew of the case so far. "This is pretty disturbing," she commented as Castle joined her in front of the screen when he'd finished.

"I know, but let's hope this is the time we're lucky and we get the killer right away," he said. "And by that I mean the boyfriend."

"We'll find out right now," Beckett said as her phone rang. Seeing it was Ryan she quickly picked up, and said, "You have something?"

"We just confirmed the boyfriend's alibi," Ryan said. "He was at a class at NYU and then headed to a place next to the campus for a meal, didn't leave the school from four to ten, way outside our kill zone."

"I expected as much, did you ever ask him about that symbol on the vic's chest?" Beckett said as Castle sighed.

"He had no idea what it was, guessed it could be Hebrew, but I don't think he's seen what that language looks like before, because that is not Hebrew," Ryan said. "I'm going to give the FBI a call after I hang up with you and check to see what they have."

"Okay, call me if they have anything on that symbol," Beckett said before she hung up. "So what we can do is focus on the way this victim was posed. It's obviously important, or else he would have just put up fake flowers."

"I'm wondering if this has to do with a failed romance," Castle said, having been looking at the picture of the crime scene that Beckett had zoomed in on while she'd been talking. "The vic turned the killer down, and he killed her but put her into this setting because… maybe she turned him away in a park?"

"Possible, but why not just dump the body there?" Beckett suggested.

"Because he'd want the boyfriend she's with to find her," Castle said. "Maybe in his mind, he sees himself the more romantic one-"

"And with the scene set in such a way, he's winning over her boyfriend," Beckett said. "That's an interesting theory, incredibly twisted, but it could be. We just need to figure out what this symbol is."

"You know, looking at how she is on the bed, it could almost be Snow White in the woods," Castle said.

"I know, I had that same thought, but the harp is a problem," Beckett agreed, zooming in on the woman's hands. "Did you notice this though?"

"Yeah, it looks like it's made out of a branch," Castle said.

"I think it is, so that makes me think, he's seeing her as a kind of symbol for him. Of course, what that symbol is I don't know," Beckett said.

"I get the feeling it has to do more with this," Castle said, pointing to the vic's chest. "It has to do with her, since he likely used her own blood. Though if he used his own blood…"

"We, Ryan and Espo might need to call in the psychiatrist," Beckett said, quickly correcting herself. She saw her phone screen light up before it began to ring, and she answered it saying, "You started already?"

"No, I just got the dress off the vic, and had to call Ryan and Esposito before calling you," Lanie replied. "I'm sending you a picture."

Surprised at the abruptness of that statement, Castle leaned over Beckett's shoulder, seeing that it was the same symbol as above the vic's heart. "So you took another picture of the symbol?" he asked, hoping that was the case.

"Unfortunately no, this was in another place… far lower," Lanie replied.

"How far?" Beckett asked.

"Directly above her womb," Lanie said. "The size is much smaller than what's above the heart, but it was made using her blood again; we confirmed it's her blood."

"Okay, then I guess you need to see if she's pregnant, but… I don't get the feeling she was," Beckett said.

"Yeah, I would suggest you find out what that symbol is, because I'm almost afraid to do a rape test," Lanie said. "I'll get in touch with you once I'm done with the procedure."

After hanging up, Beckett said, "If she was raped, we might… Castle, I'm fine," she quickly said as he looked troubled and was about to speak.

"Are you sure," he said.

"You, Esposito and Ryan seem to think I have a problem with it, but I've worked through that with my doctor," Beckett said simply. "So if she was raped, we might have more victims."

"The _Om_ symbol really bothers me now," Castle said. "Though, it could be a sign of guilt, to try and take away the guilt I should say; except for the invitation to the god part of it."

"True, but I get the feeling it's more for the vic, since the material used to make it was not blood like on her body," Beckett said. "So we'll need to wait and see what they come up with next, because this is pretty much as far as we can go."

"Surprised Lanie didn't mention the fact I'm still here," Castle said as he watched her close the screen to the computer after saving what they had on the 'board' so far. "What should we do now?"

Glancing back at him as they walked out to the living room, Beckett was a little surprised that wasn't a pick up, and she opened her mouth when there was a knock on the door.

"Julia's pretty popular," Castle said, picking up the flowers that were on the coffee table as she went to the door.

Looking out the peephole, Beckett was a little surprised to see it was the new neighbor from down the hall and she opened the door. "Hey, Kent right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I stopped by because I had a really great time talking to you a couple weeks ago while I moved in," the man said. "And I just brought these for you, wondering if you'd like to get something-"

"Who is it?" Castle asked, unable to hear what the man was saying, but as he got closer to his fiancée, he saw the bouquet of white flowers the man was holding out to her and took two more longer strides to stand just behind her, but close enough for the neighbor to notice.

His eyes widening, the neighbor dropped the flowers and nearly ran from them, almost bowling over an older woman coming down the hall before he turned the corner and was out of sight.

"Well, I guess you're good for something," Beckett said as Castle picked up the bouquet. "Ugh, carnations, I never liked those white."

"Bad memory?" Castle asked.

"My first boyfriend brought me those for our first date; he tried to feel me up," Beckett said. "Always remember that when I see white carnations. Are you okay Mrs. Parker?" she then directed to the woman walking down the hall to them.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Castle said, hurrying out to take the bag she was carrying; his overnight bag he'd left at the woman's apartment. "I got a little caught up with our co-workers who came to see Julia."

"That's alright, it gave me the excuse to come and ask if I could see her and also how she's doing," Mrs. Parker said.

"Come on in, would you like some carnations?" Beckett asked as Castle held out the bouquet.

"I'll take those with me when I go, where is she?" Mrs. Parker asked.

"Sleeping, but she's been out for… never mind," Beckett said with a laugh as she could hear the Julia's slippers coming from the hall. "Good morning sweetie, how'd you sleep? Good?"

Julia nodded and waved at Mrs. Parker, smiling when the woman showed her the bouquet she had brought with her; of blue irises and sunflowers. She made a gesture of thanks and then hugged the woman tightly.

"So she's doing better?" Mrs. Parker asked as Julia went to Castle.

"Pretty well," Beckett said as she set the flowers with all the other vases.

"I'm glad to hear, now if you need me to watch her at all I am available," Mrs. Parker said, taking the bouquet of white carnations.

"Thank you, I might call you if I need to," Beckett said. "Thanks for the flowers." She closed the door after the woman and then turned to Castle saying, "We're a popular place today."

"Of course, we're all popular people; me and Julia especially," Castle said as Beckett rolled her eyes and the little girl looked at him in confusion. His phone began to shake in his pocket, so he hurriedly dug it out before checking the screen. "That's Alexis. Mind telling her I'll get your TV set up?"

Beckett took the phone and watched him go to the bag on his chair before she answered the phone. "This is Beckett, Alexis, your dad is getting the TV ready so we can Skype," she told her.

"Oh good, I wanted to see Julia since I can't hear her talk," Alexis said.

Once Castle had his tablet set and he was sitting with Julia on an armchair facing it, he took his phone from Beckett and hung up before Alexis called him via Skype. "Hey, how're you doing Alexis," he asked when she appeared on the TV.

"Great, I think the more important thing to ask is how's she doing?" Alexis asked as she waved to Julia.

"Much better, but she's not really talking of course," Beckett said, seeing Julia waving back. "So I'm not sure how much of a conversation you can really have."

"That's fine, I just wanted to see her," Alexis said simply. "My dad said you're staying in from work."

"Gram called you didn't she?" Castle asked.

"I talked to her, she mentioned you've got a case," Alexis said.

"We're consulting, or I am, and much like we did in San Francisco," Beckett said. "We're trying not to leave so we can focus on Julia."

"Well, I hope you guys can because I know she'd be really happy for you to stay home with her," Alexis said.

"Yeah, you realize that I'm not about to force Kate anywhere," Castle said, since he knew his daughter was teasing him.

"He's right, and we're just helping," Beckett said, smiling as he looked a little annoyed.

"Okay, I better go, I have a class and I need to get some homework done for my class tonight," Alexis said. "I probably won't be able to call again today, but I'll try to see you tomorrow okay Julia?" When the little girl nodded she waved to her and said, "Bye Jules."

"Bye," the little girl whispered, closing her eyes at the pain that caused.

"Thanks," Alexis said. "I'll call you later Dad, see you later Beckett."

"Thanks for calling Alexis," Beckett replied.

Turning off the Skype app, Castle looked down at Julia and said, "Well, your throat is hurting I think, after that."

Julia nodded, but then rubbed her stomach, smiling when Castle tickled her side slightly in response. She looked to her mother then, wondering if he didn't understand what she was trying to say.

"I know, you're hungry sweetheart," Castle said quickly, kissing her cheek. "And it's about time for lunch, which I've got set, so you two… have fun."

"You're sure you're a writer," Beckett teased him as Julia climbed down from her lap after he'd handed their daughter to her.

"Pretty sure," Castle replied, playing along with her. "You don't want to stay with your mom?" he then asked Julia. When she shook her head he picked her up and set her on the counter in the kitchen saying, "Then just stay there and watch as I make you a very delicious lunch that won't hurt your throat."

Beckett, leaning on the other side of the counter, watched the two as he cooked some soup, making some salad for herself and him to have with that. She felt a little strange as she was doing that, feeling like she should be thinking of the case instead. But since it was a force of habit, she walked around the counter to resist the temptation to turn her attention to work, and went to Julia, hugging her and kissing her before she helped Castle get everything to the table. It worked until after lunch, when they got a call from Lanie. "Sweetie," she said as Julia was sitting at the table coloring while she and Castle cleaned up. "Can you do me a favor and head to your room? Pick out a game for us to play."

"At least she didn't call until after lunch," Castle said. "She might say something with me here though."

"We'll figure out what to say as we go," Beckett said simply. "Lanie, Castle's here," she said as they went into the entry which would give them a little more privacy to talk.

"Okay, well, I just finished up with your vic, and I was right that she was strangled with the garrote," the doctor began. "But she was also drugged; there was a massive amount of Rohipnol, the date rape drug in her system. Not enough to kill her, but enough to take whatever fight she had out of her, also a dose of chloroform ensured she was out."

"So no evidence of a struggle," Castle said.

"None whatsoever," Lanie said. "And I did a rape test but…"

"Go ahead," Beckett said, knowing her friend was hesitating for her sake.

"Her vaginal area was thoroughly cleaned," Lanie said.

"So was she raped?" Castle asked.

"There was some damage, so I would say yes but I don't think your killer was able to really do much," Lanie said. "If you asked my opinion, he was likely impotent because the worst damage? Was from his fingernails."

Shuddering at that, Beckett shook her head when Castle grabbed her arm, and she was able to say, "So no DNA evidence."

"He cleaned her with pure alcohol," Lanie said.

"Okay, thank you, I need to go Lanie, I have two calls," Beckett said quickly as her screen flashed. "Ryan?" she said, going to his call first.

"Yeah, Beckett, I got a hold of the FBI, they say that symbol on the vic's chest and her… lower is actually Arabic, they're finding someone to translate it now. I'll call when he gets back to me. And Espo-"

"He called me at the same time you did," Beckett interrupted. "I'll call him back; let me know anything else you find out." She hung up and said, "Does it seem like I'm taking charge on this still?"

"I can tell you if you do," Castle said.

Beckett didn't say anything to that, instead glanced over at the couch where Julia had sat with a game. "We'll be right over sweetie," she told her. Satisfied that their daughter was going to stay where she was, she called Esposito and once he'd answered said, "You found something out?"

"Yeah, I'm here at the vic's apartment because CSU is still here and they gave me a call," the detective replied.

"What did they find?" Castle asked.

"Can Julia hear me?" Esposito asked instead. When Beckett replied in the negative he said, "It's a book of sketches with some pictures. And Beckett, the sketches are all of the vic, detailed, even down to the slight bend in her left toe, and in the same way he left the body. And another thing, she's naked in everyone except for the last one."

"Take it to the Precinct," Beckett said quickly, sharing a surprised look with Castle. "Copy every single page and bring it here, we need to see if he was stalking her long before he killed her."


	4. Playing Those Mind Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Mind Games by John Lennon, from his album of the same name.

"Got the copies here," Ryan said, holding up a file as he and Esposito walked into Beckett's apartment. "Are you sure it's a good idea for us to bring them?"

"We need to see them," she said in response. "And one of you is going to need to take Julia to her room while Castle and I look at these."

"I think since I was the first one to see them…" Esposito began, looking at his partner.

"Just don't solve the case without me," Ryan said simply before he went with Beckett to the couch.

"Hey sweetie," Beckett said to her daughter when she reached Julia who was looking at the cards of her UNO deck. "I'm sorry, but think you can show Kauai to Ryan while he's here for a little?"

Nodding, as she knew her uncles were there for work, Julia got up quickly and took Ryan's hand, leading him to her room.

"Alright, now that she's gone, these were in the book," Esposito said, laying down some of the pictures.

"These were at the beginning of the book?" Castle asked, picking up one and seeing it was of just hands.

"Those were the vic's, see the pattern of freckles on that one?" Esposito asked.

"Did you send these to Lanie at all? I want to make sure these aren't other women," Beckett said quickly.

"She has them, and I got hold of the boyfriend, our vic wasn't any kind of artist, and he isn't either, so that was left there," Esposito said. "Plus, CSU said they found this under the bed with some flower branches on it, the same as on the vic's head. And there was a pretty good build up of dust under the bed, so you could see the marks of the killer's fingers as he left it there. He also dragged the dirt that had been around the bed with him, so this is his."

"He was stalking her," Beckett said, taking the pictures as Esposito handed them to her. "Because he dated this back in January, though that could be fabricated of course. What I'm wondering, is the first sketch of her naked real or the killer's imagination?"

"Yeah, she seems a little too curvy," Castle said, turning on the screen before he paused.

"Go ahead," Beckett said when he looked at her.

"I asked Lanie the same thing," Esposito said. "And we'll have the answer now," he finished as his phone began to ring. "Hey Lanie, I'm with Castle and Beckett."

"Yeah, the first pictures of her do not match her body at all, but he was pretty close," Lanie answered. "It's when you get to the last one that the sketch matches her."

"Thanks," Esposito said shortly before suddenly hanging up. "CSU is calling," he said to Castle and Beckett who were watching him. "This is Esposito."

"Detective, we found something else at the apartment; you're going to want to see this," a woman on the other end said.

"Can you tell me what it is?" Esposito asked.

"It's a painting of the vic," the woman replied simply.

"You can't take it back to-" Esposito began.

"There's also a kind of shrine," the CSU member interrupted.

"I'll be right over," Esposito said before hanging up. "I need to get Ryan." His phone then shook, and he groaned, seeing it was a text from the Precinct. "The vic's sister just got here from Hoboken; the boyfriend said she might know if there was anyone harassing her too. She's waiting at the station though."

Sharing a glance with Castle, Beckett then said, "If you let me get Mrs. Parker down the hall, I can go with Castle to the crime scene."

"Are you sure," Esposito said. "Wouldn't Julia want you to stay here?"

"Let me talk to her," Beckett said before turning to leave her office.

Castle nearly went with her, but held back as he watched her go. He looked at the pictures still on the desk and started to pick them up before he said, "The writing is here too," looking up at Esposito.

"Ryan? I need to talk with Julia alone for a second," Beckett said when she reached the doorway of her daughter's room.

"Oh sure, do we have something?" the detective asked.

"Ask Espo," Beckett said simply. "Sweetie," she then said to Julia, picking her up and carrying her to the bed. "I kind of need to go somewhere to help your uncles with what they're working on."

Julia frowned at that, and then touched her mother's bare ring finger; Castle having taken it off for her before the others had arrived earlier.

"He's going to come with me, do you want me to ask Martha to come and watch you, or is it okay if Mrs. Parker does?" Beckett asked, holding up two fingers. "Mrs. Parker?" she said when Julia tapped her second finger. "Thank you so much," she said as she hugged her. "I promise we'll come back, I don't want to stay out late. We'll have something special for dessert after dinner later okay?" She picked up the little girl and walked out to the living room saying, "We'll go, I just need to get Mrs. Parker," as she was dialing the woman's number on her phone.

Ryan and Esposito left then, and once they were gone Castle picked up Julia as her mother was on the phone. "I know she probably said it already, but we'll come back the second we can. I'll make sure we do okay? And hey, maybe we can have a special dessert. Some sundaes with whipped cream, I know your throat will love that," he told her as he kissed her temple and then cheek. "Sound good?"

Nodding eagerly, Julia hugged him tightly and shared a quick kiss with him before her mother walked back to them. "Mommy," she whispered.

"Is something wrong?" Beckett asked as Castle set their daughter down at her direction. She was surprised when she ran to the coffee table and pointed to the back of the UNO deck. "You're going to play with Mrs. Parker?" Julia nodded so she then said, "I think you can make the number one with your finger, since you can't really yell uno."

There was a knock and Castle hurried to open the door, a little surprised there were two men with Mrs. Parker. "Uh, Kate?" he said.

"They're for Julia," the older woman said.

"Thank you," Beckett said quickly as she and Castle each took a vase. "This is from Gates," she said in surprise.

"She's a mother too," Castle said quickly. "And has a daughter."

"I know, I forgot," Beckett replied. "I'll have to call her if we don't head to the station later. And that?"

"Is from Alexis," Castle said, setting the vase with blue hyacinth and heliotrope on the counter. "Looks like you're opening a flower shop," he commented, then grit his teeth when he remembered he'd said something similar to Beckett after she'd been shot.

Squeezing his shoulder as she knew what he was remembering from the look on his face, Beckett said, "We shouldn't be gone for that long, I'll give you a call when we're about ready to head back. She's okay with medicine, and if she wants a snack, there's some blueberry and watermelon Jell-O that Castle made, it's already cut so you just need to serve it."

"She'll be fine," Mrs. Parker told them as Beckett knelt in front of Julia.

"I love you sweetie," Beckett told her daughter. "Rest as much as you can and listen to Mrs. Parker. We'll come home the second we can." She was relieved when Julia nodded, seeing that the little girl seemed to be perfectly fine with them going. She still couldn't help but feel guilty as they hugged, and she kissed her cheek before sharing a kiss with her, stepping back to let Castle say goodbye.

"I love you too Julia, see you later and don't take all the Jell-O, want to try some of that with you tomorrow maybe," he told her. He was pleased when she smiled, but as they shared a kiss he couldn't help feeling guilty as well. He went with Beckett to the door and they waved at their daughter before leaving. "What else do we really need to do?" he asked as they turned the corner of the hall to get to the elevators.

"I know, we'll come back, fast," Beckett said, knowing why he was asking. She was a little startled when he suddenly stopped her, grabbing her wrist to pull her around to face him. She took his quick kiss, and they headed back down the hall, feeling slightly better she wasn't alone in her guilt.

* * *

"Detective, it's this way," a CSU member said when Beckett and Castle stepped into the apartment. She went through the back door and stood aside saying, "You can't miss it."

"Thanks," Beckett said, seeing the empty bed as she went into the bedroom itself. She then looked at the trees, reaching up to touch the leaves though she had gloves on.

"They're definitely real," Castle said, watching her. "And dirt," he said, looking at the floor, seeing some petals strewn across the soil.

"And then there's the closet…" Beckett started to say before she trailed off. "This…" she tried to speak again as they stepped up to the open doors. But she found herself without words as she saw the painting that was inside. It was tall, around six feet, and while most of it looked like it had been painted some time ago, the painted skin of the woman; their vic, was fairly fresh.

"So he took the time to finish this up," Castle said, shaking his head as the vic was looking down in the painting. "No wonder she wasn't found for so long, he knew he had the time to do that."

"There are no symbols," Beckett pointed out.

"Yeah, that's strange, but I think the painting and the subject are supposed to be separate," Castle said. "He puts her here, and on this canvas she's perfection, but her body is imperfect, so maybe that's why he… assaults her."

"Tries to rape her," Beckett corrected him. She turned around, looking over the entire room before she went into the bathroom. "Anything here?" she asked the CSU member dusting the faucet handles.

"Nothing, it's likely the killer never made it in here since there wasn't even dirt tracked on the floor," the man replied.

Nodding, Beckett turned and walked to the end of the bed, seeing the bare wall opposite her where it should have been. She noticed that Castle was watching her, but turned away as she didn't want to know why he had the expression on his face that he did. "I-" she started to say before her phone rang. "Ryan," she told her fiancé before answering. "What do you have?"

"Esposito's out getting a possible suspect," the detective replied. "The vic's sister talked about a friend of the boyfriend, who's an artist and would harass the vic. Also he's into Hinduism."

"You want me to talk with him?" Beckett asked.

"And Castle, he might connect with the guy and also help out with the Hinduism part, remember he told us Alexis was studying it?" Ryan said.

"The mythology," Castle said. "But yeah, I know something about the religion. But if he's our killer there's no way in hell I'm connecting with him."

"We'll head to the Precinct Ryan. And about this painting, it needs to go to the station, but we need to store it somewhere," Beckett said, looking at Castle at his swearing.

"I'll talk to Gates," Ryan said before hanging up.

"Any reason why you said that about this artist?" Beckett asked as they left. She paused to quickly tell one of the CSU members to get the painting of the vic to the Precinct, and continued with her fiancé out of the apartment.

"I have my reasons," was all that Castle would say in response as he pressed the button for the elevator down the hall.

* * *

Looking up as the door to interrogation opened, the young man glanced at Beckett, his eyes going up and down once before he saw Castle walking in behind her. "Is that Richard Castle?" he asked in surprise.

"It is, but I'm afraid you don't really have time for an autograph Mr. Rowntree," Beckett said as Castle sat at the table and she remained standing. "I have some information on you here, like you're an artist, attending classes at NYU."

"Right, is that why I'm being questioned?" Rowntree asked.

"I'm wondering, if I may ask?" Castle started to say, posing the question to Beckett.

"Oh by all means," she said in reply, pacing slowly back and forth. She didn't like the way the artist kept glancing to her, but forced herself to ignore that as her fiancé began to speak.

"What art period is your favorite?" Castle asked. "Or the kind of technique you prefer. Your medium?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Rowntree said, looking at Castle in a little disbelief.

"Just answer the question," Beckett said.

"I prefer to paint, and… I guess the Impressionists, and I don't really have a specific technique," the man babbled slightly, a little unnerved by Beckett's tone in her answer.

"Do you know Ophelia Meyer?" she then asked.

"Yeah, she's my friend's girlfriend," Rowntree said, recovering a little.

"She was found dead this morning," Castle said as Beckett set down a picture in front of the suspect from the file she was holding.

"She… wait, you think I did this? That I would do that and pose her like that?" Rowntree said in disbelief. When neither Castle nor Beckett said anything in response to that he quickly spoke saying, "I, I liked her and I tried to see if she would date me but, she never went for it," in a rush.

"Then why had she told her sister, and your friend Joseph that you were harassing her, and not just verbally?" Beckett asked.

"Because I was drunk at the time it wasn't just verbally," Rowntree replied defensively. "And I might have tried to grab her… inappropriately, but she slapped me on the cheek before I could. I've never been alone with her again since then."

"Then what were you doing between five and seven yesterday?" Beckett asked.

"I was… I was at my parents' apartment," Rowntree began slowly before quickly remembering. "My mom had her Sunday dinner, and I went to their building. I'm sure there's security footage of me going. I didn't leave until eleven; my dad and I were playing gin rummy after eating until then."

Looking up at Beckett, Castle stood and whispered into her ear before she nodded and handed him a picture. "So you're an artist, have you sold anything?" he said, turning back to Rowntree.

"A couple, I haven't done that many showings though, why does that matter?" the man asked. When Castle set a picture in front of him he frowned and said, "That's not my work, I tend to deal more in watercolors. That's acrylic paint, plus the brushes are… not my type either."

"Would you know of a local artist who paints like this?" Beckett asked.

"Uh… not really, but… you could try the galleries, they would know I'm sure," Rowntree said.

"Are you an avid Hindu?" Beckett asked suddenly, seeing the man fiddling with a symbol that was a pendant around his neck.

"I, yeah," Rowntree said.

"So you know _Om_ ," Castle then said.

"Of course, I meditate and read the Vedas," Rowntree snapped. "Does this have something to do with Hinduism? Because that painting doesn't have anything that would work with the religion."

"Okay, we'll have to check on your alibi of course. And I hope for your sake this painting is not a new medium you've decided to try," Beckett said without answering; gathering the pictures before she left, Castle behind her. "Sir," she said when Gates came out from observation at the same time.

"You're supposed to have the week off Beckett," the Captain said simply. "Is he a viable suspect?"

"It depends on his art," Castle said. "That's why Esposito's over at his apartment now."

"And I was going to check at NYU for his portfolio there," Beckett said. "But I don't think he's all that suspicious."

"Any reason why? You haven't even checked his alibi, let alone his artwork," Gates said.

"The symbol around his neck is _Om_ ," Castle said. "If he was a devout Hindu; which I think he is because he was praying to Shiva as we left and was doing the same when we walked into the room; there's no way he'd misuse it."

"Not even to invoke our first vic as a sacrifice?" Gates said. When she saw Castle's startled look she simply said, "Ryan and Esposito filled me in on what you had to say."

"We'll still check his alibi of course," Beckett said. "But I'm pretty sure that he'll be cleared."

"Right, but I would ask you to leave that to your partners," Gates said. "You are off for the week and you have a sick daughter at home."

"Yes, thank you for the flowers you sent her sir, she loved them," Beckett said.

"You're welcome. Ryan and Esposito will keep me informed on the case," Gates said as she walked to her office.

"So I'm staying?" Castle asked.

"You're leaving when Beckett's finished Mr. Castle," Gates called out the door.

"Should I say thanks?" Castle whispered.

"I don't think so," Beckett said quietly, rolling her eyes. "Let's check his artwork and I'll make a call for the security footage before we go back to our daughter."

* * *

Walking into the conference room, Castle saw that his fiancée was leaning against the table, looking at the painting from the vic's apartment that had been brought to the station. "I made some coffees to go," he told her, handing her a coffee cup. "Okay?"

"Yeah, just, I feel a sense of déjà vu when I look at this, I feel like I've seen it before," Beckett said.

"You think it could be a copy of a painting?" Castle asked.

"I don't know, it's too modern in appearance," Beckett said, stepping closer to the picture.

"You're sure you've never taken an art history class?" Castle said, watching.

"I'm sure, but my dad loves art, you've seen the books at his place," Beckett said.

"He likes the Renaissance artists though," Castle said. "And this is not similar to them."

"And you?" Beckett asked, looking at him.

"Me what?" Castle said.

"Have you ever taken art history?" Beckett replied.

"I did, but pre-1700s," Castle said. "I don't know why I never took the other half of the class, but this is not from that time period. Although-"

"I don't think knowing who they're copying will really help us," Beckett finished for him. She was going to say something else as he nodded, and then looked past his shoulder. "Anything?"

"Got some of this guy's art work, and from what I saw, nothing close to that painting," Esposito said. "Mostly they're parks here in the city."

"So landscapes," Castle said. "I think we unsettled him too much," he commented to Beckett.

"He's not our killer," Ryan said, entering the room then. "Just got through the footage from yesterday at Rowntree's parents' building, and he's there from about four to eleven. No other way to go because the stairs all have cameras and I focused on those two hours for the bottom floor and the floor his parents are on, no sign of him."

"Then you can let him go," Beckett said. "I was thinking though, you might want to have the psychologist come in and take a look at the pictures of how the vic was posed, the sketches and this painting. It might give you more to go on with the killer."

"Right, you're heading back home?" Ryan asked.

"I am," Beckett said. "Unless you need me here?"

"We got this," Esposito said. "We just need to get in touch with some art galleries, and that can be done over the phone."

"So you don't need me to stay here either?" Castle asked.

"I think we can handle it," Ryan said. "You know, in case we get a lead of some kind, or a new clue, maybe you should head back to Beckett's."

"Last I checked," she said as Castle was about to reply to that. "Is that it's my home. And since my daughter is in my home, waiting for me, I'm going." She headed to her desk, but stopped in the aisle as she remembered she hadn't brought her work bag. So she turned abruptly, walking to the elevators and waving over her shoulder as Ryan, Esposito and Castle called a goodbye to her. Inside the car, she quickly texted her fiancé, and walked down the street outside until she was on the next block where there was a park across the street.

"He's never really done that before," Castle said as he was walking up to her a few minutes later. "Sorry, I delayed as long as I thought would work."

"It's not a problem," Beckett said, closing her phone. "I needed to check on something anyways. Come on, we're going somewhere."

"Not your place?" Castle asked. But she wouldn't answer him, so he followed her to the street where she hailed a cab. When she gave the driver an address, he still had no idea where they were going, so it was with a little surprise that they got out in front of a familiar store. "Phoenix Hobbies?" he asked, following her inside. "You want to make a model car?"

"No," Beckett said simply. She led the way to the back and said, "Pick out a plane for Julia."

"You… why?" Castle asked, startled by that. "Oh, the guilt," he said before she could answer. "Yeah, that's a good idea. She was talking about the Hawaiian Airlines plane last time we were here. And you?"

"I'll meet you at the registers, but this is the only time I want us to get her anything," Beckett warned him.

"Of course," Castle replied. "I know you don't want to spoil her. But it's so hard not to," he finished off in a mock whining tone.

"Go," Beckett said, shaking her head, though she was smiling. She left him then and went to the toys section of the store, stopping at the stuffed animals. She was about to reach for something on a shelf when her phone rang and she jumped a little. Taking it out of her pocket, she was a little startled to see it was Ryan, and she answered asking, "You have something already?"

"Not really, we just called a few art galleries, and they're telling us the style of the painting we found is probably the stage before the Impressionist era, the…" the detective began to say before trailing off.

"Romanticism," Beckett supplied for him. "I suppose that could be it, the brush strokes of the background were kind of lighter like the later paintings in that era."

"You don't sound too sure," Ryan said.

"It's just with this painting, it's going to emulate an era, but never really be exactly it. So it's likely it'll be hard to pinpoint it," Beckett said. "But then again it might not be important, just a method to throw us off," she said as she saw Castle down the aisle approaching her.

"Well, it's the best we can do now, CSU just got to me before I called you and there's no fingerprints, foreign fibers or anything that might give us a clue," Ryan said.

"If you want to stick with the painting, I'd suggest trying someone from the Met. Someone who's specific to the 1800s," Beckett said.

Castle waited until she'd hung up a little time later to ask, "A clue?"

"Not really," Beckett replied. "Let's go," she said quickly as she took the stuffed animal she'd been about to grab. As they were walking to the registers she quickly related what she and Ryan had talked about, finishing with, "So they don't really need us, and since it's getting close to four I would like to focus on Julia until we put her to bed."

"I'm surprised they didn't try to have you call anyone," Castle said.

"He said he and Espo were fine before I could even offer when we were back at the station," Beckett said, shrugging her shoulders. "So if they're that determined for me not to help, then I'll wait. But-"

"I knew that was coming," Castle interrupted.

Giving him a look, Beckett finished saying, "I would like to look at vic a little, see if there's anything else she does besides accounting."

"What if she's a Hindu? I know Ryan said she was Jewish, but you never know," Castle said. He saw the glance that his fiancée gave him and gave a suffering sigh; done mockingly; and said, "This is why we work so well together, we think the same."

"Luckily not all the time," Beckett said simply. She smiled when Castle shook his head at her, but then grabbed her phone as it shook, saying, "They must have found something." She read the text then and frowned before looking at her fiancé.

"What is it?" Castle asked. "It's not Julia is-" he started to say, sounding a little concerned.

"No, no, it's from Ryan, that writing on the vic's body? _Mamounia_ ," Beckett said.

"As in the Paul McCartney song?" Castle asked quickly.

"That's _Mamunia_ , spelled different, but the word is the same," Beckett said, still looking troubled. "And according to the FBI, _mamounia_ means… safe haven."


	5. Trying To Catch Your Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Jealous Guy by John Lennon, from his album Imagine.

Sliding the divider between the driver and them closed, Castle said, "So, _mamounia_."

"Yes, I said the word a couple of times, what are you thinking?" Beckett said. "Because I could tell from the expression on your face that you were thinking it over in your mind while you waited for me to pay."

"Okay, he placed it above her heart, and again above her… womb," Castle said. "I'm wondering if he isn't a person who worships the goddess. In a really bizarre and horrifying way."

"It doesn't make much sense," Beckett said, shaking her head. "If he did, I can't imagine why he'd kill our vic. What I'm seeing, is he saw the vic as a goddess, but he was unable to maybe get her attention-"

"And he would worship her from afar, but then he finally couldn't take it anymore, he wanted to possess her and-" Castle continued.

"He killed her, but he posed her as he saw her, as… an actual goddess? That's something we can look into later on tonight. Maybe that harp might clue us in on a deity," Beckett said. "But it's pretty sick; we cannot let Julia see the murder board."

"No, no, we're in agreement there," Castle said, looking at the bag in between them on the seat. "Why?"

Smiling, as she knew that Castle wasn't asking about her statement, Beckett said in response, "I think I explained before, well, you figured it out before."

"That's true, she'll be surprised though," he commented.

"You never bought something for Alexis when she was little and sick?" Beckett asked.

"I did, but nothing like we bought Julia," Castle said.

"Well, we do love her I think," Beckett said, pretending to make that a question more than a statement.

"We do, a great deal, okay, so I guess I should just say that I am surprised you thought of this," Castle said. "And little envious that you did."

"You thought of a better dessert tonight than I had a chance to come up with," Beckett said with a shrug as they reached her building. She left for the lobby as Castle paid for the ride, and waited until he joined her by the elevators. "But you know, as her parents we share the ideas," she said as they entered one car and the doors began to close.

"Hold the doors!" a voice called out suddenly.

Pushing the button as soon as he'd heard, Castle watched as the neighbor who'd tried to ask his fiancée out earlier that day walked inside with a woman hanging on his arm, giggling heavily as she slid in her stiletto heels. He glanced at Beckett, who took the chance while the two were distracted to step closer to him, which he couldn't really blame her for as the couple began to kiss, and disgustingly noisily as well.

Beckett grimaced at the sound, and grabbed the upper part of Castle's arm as she stared at the number panel, avoiding their reflection in the car doors. She had never really had a ride up to her floor that had lasted so long, and she nearly ran into her fiancé as they rushed to get out. When they were around the corner she said, "That was the worst few seconds I've ever had in an elevator."

"I know, we… we don't kiss that loudly right," Castle said as they walked at a slower pace to her door.

"No, I'm sure one of us would have noticed," Beckett said simply. "But think he's throwing my not being single in my face?"

"Probably, but the question is, jealous at all?" Castle asked, turning to her when they reached her place.

"Oh, wildly," Beckett said in a monotone before rolling her eyes. She unlocked the door and called, "Sorry I didn't give you a call before we came back… Dad?" trailing off when she saw her father standing by the door to the bedrooms. "Mrs. Parker?"

"I actually left work earlier and decided I'd spend the time with my granddaughter," Jim said simply. "And I'm really glad you two are here because-"

"Where's Julia?" Castle asked, looking around and not seeing her.

"She wanted to play hide and seek with you two," Jim replied. "When she heard the door being unlocked."

"Great, I guess we don't need to give her these presents," Beckett said with a smile as she looked at Castle. She turned to her office, seeing Julia coming out from under her desk and smiling as she hurried to take her daughter into her arms as she started to run to them. "I guess you're happy to see us again," she said with a slight laugh as Julia peppered her cheek with kisses. "I missed you too. Are you feeling okay?"

Nodding, Julia then reached out to Castle and kissed his cheek before hugging him. "Pres-" she started to try and whisper to him before stopping abruptly.

"Hold on, are you staying for dinner Jim?" Castle asked.

"If you don't mind," Beckett's dad replied. "Why?"

"Stop teasing her," Beckett said in exasperation, pushing his arm slightly. She followed him to the couch and sat with him saying, "We got you these to thank you for not being mad at us for going back to work."

Julia smiled and made the thank you gesture before her mother pulled out a stuffed frog. She gasped and then reached for it, hugging it tightly, going onto Beckett's lap and giving her a kiss.

"You're welcome," she said with a smile. "I know you said how much you wanted it."

"What are you going to call it?" Castle asked. He was a little surprised when Julia took his phone from his pocket, and they watched the little girl go onto the calendar on his phone, pointing to a day.

"Tuesday?" Jim asked as his daughter and Castle laughed a little.

"The Paul McCartney cartoon," Beckett said. "About the flying frogs. That's a very interesting name sweetie. Now Castle's gift."

Julia clapped her hands together when she saw the tail of the Hawaiian Airlines model plane in its box and she pointed to Castle before she went back to him.

"I'll put it together after dinner," he said, hugging her as she kissed his cheek before kissing him. "And you're very welcome."

"You can put it together now, I'll take care of the meal," Beckett said, squeezing Castle's arm before getting up.

"Okay," he said when Jim followed Beckett to the kitchen and they were alone. "You can keep this here," he told Julia as he took the plane out of the box. "I know how much you like the design on the tail. I think I do too. You know, one day I'll take you and your mom to Hawaii, you still want to go right?"

Nodding, Julia held the fuselage of the model and looked on as Castle set out all the pieces. She held it up for him then, watching as the plane came together, clapping happily when he finished and let her hold it by the stand.

"Pretty nice," Castle commented. "And a bigger model than what we got already, though I bet you the A380s we have are bigger. Go show your mom and grandfather, but don't run okay?" He stood up and walked after her to the kitchen, watching her show the completed model to her mother.

"I'm a little surprised that she took to model planes as quickly as she did," Jim said after Julia had showed him the plane and then left to put it and her stuffed frog in her room.

"Thank Castle for that," Beckett said. "Did Mrs. Parker say she was okay when you came?"

"She did, though she said Julia was missing you a little when you two left and apparently she drew you a picture, but I don't know where she put it," Jim answered.

"And while you were here?" Castle asked.

"Fine, we played some games and read a little. She seems to be a little irritated that she can't really speak without it hurting her to do so," Jim replied.

"I know, but it's hard not to," Beckett said simply as her father was looking at her.

"You were the same when you had your tonsils taken out?" Castle asked her.

"Her mother had to keep her from speaking numerous times. I suggested a change jar for her to fill whenever she tried to speak, but neither she nor Katie really appreciated that," Jim said, smiling as his daughter was rolling her eyes. "There's the picture," he then said when he saw Julia approaching them with a large piece of paper she was holding against her.

Letting her dad take over with the soup she'd been heating up, Beckett went over to Julia, picking her up before she sat on the chair on the other side of the counter. "Show us what you drew sweetie," she told her as Castle stood next to her.

Opening up the picture, Julia held it out and then looked up at them so she could see their reactions.

"That's a great picture," Castle commented first. "And pretty big, you must have been working on it for a while." When Julia nodded he leaned over and kissed her forehead before he left them to set the table.

"You're not mad we left are you?" Beckett asked, kissing her daughter's temple. She smiled when Julia shook her head and then said, "We'll try not to leave tomorrow okay?"

Julia shrugged, and when her mother looked at her she became frustrated, wishing she could say more than a few simple words without her throat paining her badly. "It kay Mommy," she managed to get out.

Beckett hugged the little girl to her at that, but didn't reply to what she'd said. She knew that while Julia didn't mind them going, it definitely wasn't okay with her. And glancing over at her fiancé, she knew it wasn't okay with Castle either.

* * *

"And a nice mountain of whipped cream on top… and there you have it. The most perfect, awesome hot fudge sundae ever created," Castle said, spraying out a pile of whipped cream on top of chocolate ice cream. He smiled as Julia giggled softly and he straightened up, kissing her cheek. "That's yours, now do you want to start eating it here? Or should I put you down?"

"Stay," Julia said, trying not to whisper. She clenched her teeth together as it was painful, but not as bad as it had been earlier in the day.

"Okay, but eat the ice cream now, it'll keep helping your throat," Castle said. "Meanwhile I need to make the sundaes for your mom and myself," he told her, looking towards the door.

"That is a pretty nice sundae," Beckett said as she came out from her bedroom then. "You're very lucky sweetie," she told Julia, coming around the counter to her to share a kiss with her. "And I think she likes it," she said with a laugh as her lips were sticky with chocolate ice cream. She took the napkin that Castle handed her, and kept her eye on their daughter, watching her sucking the ice cream off her spoon.

"There's yours," Castle said, putting a cherry on top of the sundae. "And to make you happy I used chocolate."

"Thank you, but anything would have been fine," Beckett said. "Come on Julia, let's wait at the table, we can look at your deck of cards while we wait for him to make his."

"I don't think she wants to go," Castle said, laughing slightly as the little girl made a face. "You want to watch me make mine?" At her nod he said, "Great, then you can help me out. Think you can put the cherry on top of mine once I'm finished."

Starting on her own sundae, Beckett shook her head as her fiancé proceeded to explain to their daughter; very seriously; the best way to make the dessert as he made his. When they were finished and Julia had put the cherry on top of the whipped cream, they headed over to the table. "So are you playing by yourself sweetie?" she asked once they were sitting close together so it'd be easier to play.

"Yes," Julia said softly.

"Does it hurt less to talk?" Castle asked when Julia's face wasn't too pained.

"I think the surgery is a lot better than when I was a kid," Beckett said as he looked at her when Julia nodded to his question. "Which is great, but it's still pretty tiring."

"Do not… want to," Julia said very slowly, pausing in the middle.

"You need to go to bed sweetheart, if your mom says," Castle told her as he dealt out seven cards each for them from the UNO deck Julia had.

"But we'll play a quick game," Beckett said. "Maybe not so quick, you never know with this. But after we're done we'll give you a bath and then you'll go to bed. You do need rest still."

"Why don't we play," Castle said quickly as Julia opened her mouth to speak again. He wasn't surprised she was protesting going to bed; she normally did; but was relieved since it meant she was feeling better. "Okay, you're first Julia; do you have a blue or nine?"

With that the game began, and it ended up lasting for a while, as no one was able to get down to their last card and discard it until nearly twenty minutes had passed. In the end, Beckett won, with Julia coming in second when they added hers and Castle's cards together. Though their daughter tried to get them to play again, her mother and Castle cleaned everything up, and took her to the tub in Beckett's room.

"I think we can let her play a little," Castle commented, watching as his fiancée was washing Julia's hair.

"A little being the key there," Beckett responded as the little girl was looking up at her hopefully. She leaned down and brushed her lips against Julia's before kissing her forehead.

"Fever gone?" Castle asked.

"It is, but the doctor said for one full day, so I'll give you the medicine before we brush your teeth," Beckett said. She helped Julia wash her body before starting to get up. "You don't want to play?" she asked as her daughter grabbed her hand.

Waving Castle over, Julia picked up a floating foam shape and handed it to him before she got another. She made him hold the shape as the base and with her mother's help they made a short tower before they let go and everything splashed slightly in the water with her, making her laugh briefly.

Beckett let the two play with the shapes then as she got up and grabbed a towel to get her out. She was a little surprised when Julia didn't complain when she took her out of the water, but a yawn quickly told her she was ready for bed though she might protest. She and Castle gave her the medicine and as he waited on her bed, she took Julia to brush her teeth.

"All set?" Castle asked as the little girl came up to him. He picked her up and set her on his lap asking, "Are we reading a story?"

"No? You just want to go to sleep?" Beckett asked, coming out and seeing their daughter shake her head no.

"No, tell me," Julia said carefully.

"What do you want to hear?" Castle asked as Beckett sat next to them. He was surprised when Julia tapped her mother's ring and looked at his fiancée.

"I should have told you," Beckett replied. "She asked me again not too long ago if we'll still get married, once it became May. I told her we'd started to plan, but that we both needed to tell her the details."

"And that's what you want to know?" Castle said, looking at Julia. He saw she was looking down at her hands, and he kissed her cheek quickly saying, "I don't think I blame you, since you'll be part of the ceremony of course."

"I will?" Julia asked.

"You'll hold our rings for us," Beckett said. For a moment she felt a little weird saying that, but knew that they couldn't keep things between them forever; summer was nearly there and they needed to get things prepared for the time when they could finally get married. And realizing that she felt a little impatient suddenly, she found her hesitation easily disappearing.

"No flower girl?" Julia asked.

"It's going to be a small wedding," Castle said. "We'll have it at my place, but I think we should have her as the flower girl to start out with," he directed to Beckett.

"How?" she replied as Julia looked eager.

"We will have an aisle," Castle explained. "We can have her and Alexis walk up to the front ahead of you, she can be putting orchids, on the floor."

"As long as she's not blanketing the floor, I'm surprised you suggested that though," Beckett said, as Julia was tense, watching them both.

"I don't mind, I'll have someone clean up and when we get back from the honeymoon things will be back to normal," Castle said, shrugging. "Do you want to do that?" he asked Julia. When she nodded hard he stopped her with a laugh and then said, "Okay, so we have a flower girl and ring bearer."

"Alexis?" Julia asked.

"She'll hold my bouquet for me and help you if you need it," Beckett said.

"Flowers?" Julia then said.

"Here," Castle said, opening a picture on his phone.

"What's that?" Beckett asked as their daughter looked at it and smiled. She took his phone when he handed it to her, seeing it was a picture of the three flowers together. "You went to a flower shop?"

"Earlier today, when I went to get the bouquet for you both," Castle said.

"Oh so it was for me too?" Beckett asked.

"That's what the delphinium was there for," Castle said simply. He then said, "I saw them there, and asked about the Bells of Ireland which they had, and orchids too, so it worked out. I may end up getting the bouquet there."

"You know, usually the bride is supposed to take care of that stuff, you just show up," Beckett said.

"I know," Castle said. "But you know, I am going to be participating and I'd like to do more than just open my mouth to speak and show up for the honeymoon," he said, moving his right hand like it was speaking. He smiled when Julia giggled and grabbed it before he tickled her a little. "So, is that enough?" he asked when he stopped, holding her close.

"Cake?" Julia then asked, shaking her head.

"I'm surprised that didn't come up sooner. Actually, we didn't talk about that yet," Beckett said, looking at Castle questioningly.

"I think," he said slowly. "We're not exactly a normal couple, our relationship hasn't been normal."

"And this applies to our cake how?" Beckett asked, looking at him in bewilderment.

"No, I'm just saying, in my opinion, I'd like to have a cake that's more than one tier, that's different shapes, not straight and perfect or has a… figure of a bride and groom at the top," Castle said quickly, hoping that she didn't want that either.

Beckett kept quiet for a little to make him guess as he looked at her, but finally with Julia looking between them again, she smiled and said, "You're describing what I want," as she got her phone.

"You have a picture of it?" Castle asked in surprise.

"No, but, I think something like this would be interesting," Beckett said, showing him what she'd used her phone to search for.

The picture that Castle saw was of a three tiered cake, each layer in a rounded square but not placed exactly straight. "Yeah, like that," he agreed. "And should we have some kind of decoration?"

"Flowers Mommy, Castle," Julia said, making the two look at her. She squirmed a little at their stares and then said, "The blue."

"She's right, since we're making that the color for the wedding," Castle said slowly, since he wanted Beckett to agree with that.

"Not the other flowers?" she asked their daughter. When Julia shook her head, Beckett smiled and said, "Okay, then we're set with that. There's something else I'm wondering about. Rings?"

"I have an idea about those, but we should wait," Castle said.

"I wanted to make sure that you hadn't gotten them already," Beckett said.

"I'm not picking out our wedding bands without you," Castle replied in a slightly scoffing tone of voice as he let Julia crawl over onto her mother's lap.

"You need-" Beckett started to say then.

"Dress Mommy," Julia said.

"Yeah, what about that," Castle said, leaning over slightly towards them.

"That's going to remain unseen by you until the day of the wedding," Beckett said simply. "And for you Julia, we'll pick something out together, but not yet."

"What about Alexis?" Castle asked. "We mentioned to her we're planning it, but we didn't tell her she'll essentially be your maid of honor. Speaking of that… you don't want a whole wedding party?"

"We've discussed it, and it's going to be small, I just want our daughters as our wedding party and that's enough," Beckett said simply. "What?" she asked, seeing the slightly surprised expression on his face.

"I don't know, I guess there's a part of me that sees an eight year old you imagining a twelve foot train on your wedding dress as you're walking down the aisle of a cathedral," Castle said.

"I think you're thinking of the wedding in _The Sound of Music_ we watched with her the other night," Beckett said, nodding to Julia. "And I told you, we don't need to share this with anyone other than our closest friends and family. And that will be about thirty of them."

"You've already started the list?" Castle asked, since they still hadn't done that yet.

"No, I figure that should be the maximum amount of guests," Beckett said. "That's what we'll need to plan next."

"Another time," Castle said as they looked at their daughter to see she was half asleep. "Was that better than a story?" he asked as they stood and he took her from Beckett.

"Wish it was soon," Julia sighed.

Glancing at Castle, Beckett could see his slight surprise at that and she touched his shoulder to let him know they would talk about it later. She pulled the covers down and stepped aside for him to lay her down.

"So tomorrow, remember you still don't have to go to school, so you can sleep," Castle told her as he pulled the covers up to Julia's waist.

"You stay?" she asked then as she hugged him around the neck.

"We're going to try sweetheart," Castle promised. "Okay, sweet dreams Julia, I love you." He shared a kiss with her after she had stopped nodding her head, and then ruffled her hair to her smile.

"He is right though, you can sleep in tomorrow if you want to," Beckett said as she pulled the covers up the rest of the way on the little girl. "And we'll stay home the best we possibly can. And we'll watch movies if you're not too tired." She smiled when Julia did, and then leaned down, kissing her forehead before sharing a kiss with her. "I love you so much Julia, sweet dreams."

"Love you Mommy," Julia replied sleepily. She held her Stitch doll tightly to her, and closed her eyes before her mother could stand up.

Once they were sure she was asleep, Castle and Beckett headed out to the living room; closing the doors behind them to make sure she stayed asleep.

"So we have two options," Castle said as he went to make some coffee in the kitchen. "The guest list or the case."

"The case, but about the guest list," Beckett said. "There are two people I would like to send an invitation to once we have a date."

"Who?" Castle asked.

"Skye, and Mary," Beckett said simply.

"You had an e-mail from her," Castle said.

"I did, Skye got back from Vancouver Island," Beckett said. "And again, she never asked when we're getting married though I told her last time we were starting to plan it a little."

"Probably because she's still investigating the incident," Castle said simply. "But I agree, invite them. She did save our lives and she's a good friend of course."

"Okay, then turning our attention to the case. We know now that they've talked with the vic's mother, and she didn't know anyone that might want to harm her daughter," Beckett said. "And the psychologist has everything and is going to form a profile tomorrow."

"And the alibi of the one suspect we did have checked out," Castle finished. He handed Beckett a mug of coffee, and then followed her to her office where she turned on her computer screen. "We don't really have that much do we?"

"As of right now, no," Beckett said, adding what they'd gotten that evening. "Esposito sent a copy of the painting," she said, seeing a message in her inbox. She attached the image to the murder board and said, "But I'm still unsure on this whole thing with _mamounia_."

"True, we can only theorize about it really," Castle said. "Which is actually pretty sickening that we have to." He looked on as she opened the photo of the vic on the bed and then put the painting next to it. "It's pretty close," he said. He studied his fiancée and said, "Are you feeling déjà vu still?"

"I am, but since I don't know why, it's probably better to not worry about it," Beckett said. "Why don't we go over the timeline of the case, and then what we have so far?"

"Okay, so she was killed between five and seven," Castle said as she created a pop-up for the board and put in a timeline. "Which is when Rowntree was at his parents'."

"And she was found about eight I think they said, the next morning by her boyfriend," Beckett said, making a note of that as well. "So he had about ten to twelve hours in which to get everything ready and finish the painting."

"How could he move all those things though, into the apartment, unless he was nearby?" Castle suggested.

"Right, maybe he was a neighbor or within a couple of floors," Beckett said, realizing what he meant. "So he lives close to her, which would mean that's how he chose her."

"What I don't get is what made her his vic," Castle said, looking at the painting.

"He has an idea in his mind," Beckett said, though she wasn't sure that was the case. "Well, we can't really figure out the reason she was picked, except maybe her looks."

"The fact that she's blonde?" Castle suggested.

"Or it could be her eyes were brown, we can't know," Beckett said. "Not until the boys find the killer. Okay, so we'll have to tell them to check on the floors around the vic's apartment and speak with the landlord. And I wonder, where did he get these trees and flowers?"

"That could be a little harder to determine," Castle said, opening a picture of one wall. "For all we know these could be from Connecticut or Vermont and the killer brought them here."

"The flowers too," Beckett said. "They look like wildflowers. But Ryan and Esposito can look into those; they could be a little easier to locate than the trees."

"Maybe we should make a list before we forget everything," Castle commented. He grabbed a pad of paper and wrote down what they needed to tell their partners before he then said, "So then there's the state of the vic herself. But you know, we don't really need to talk about that."

"Not in detail, I don't want her overhearing us," Beckett said, nodding towards the bedrooms. "In case she wakes up."

"Then let's focus on the symbols, we don't need to discuss anything else," Castle said quickly.

"Did you have that nightmare recently?" Beckett asked after watching him for a moment.

"No," Castle said slowly. He glanced at her and then shook his head said, "We have two different phrases in two different languages. One Hindu, one Arabic. I'm starting to think now; this person is not a practitioner of the Hindu religion."

"Which I'll be grateful for," Beckett said.

"Yeah, me too," Castle said. "And I know Alexis would be too. I was thinking, what if we contacted her professor about this? The one for her Hindu Mythology class?"

"We could try, but I think I'd want to speak to someone here," Beckett replied. "And that's something we should leave for them, not us."

"Right," Castle said quickly. "It's hard to remember you're not the lead investigator on this one."

"I'm having a hard time remembering too," Beckett said with a nod. "But we should probably separate both, approach them individually. So according to Lanie, the substance used to put the _Om_ symbol on her hand was henna, and more than likely it was before she was murdered, since she was unconcious. What if…"

"He was trying to give her peace before he killed her," Castle said. "I would hope that's the reason for it and not for that sacrifice part of it. They might meditate though; not necessarily be a Hindu; and know that symbol."

"Or have picked it up from anywhere and used that," Beckett said a little absently. "But what was on her chest and womb still bothers me."

"I don't know if we really need to talk about that," Castle said. "They might not even be important. Just this guy is very disturbed and thinks this makes her more of a symbol of perfection. Trying to make it even with his painting."

Though she knew there had to be more to it than that, Beckett nodded and said, "Okay, but I'm going to tell Ryan and Espo to look into the actual writing, because the Arabic was written very cleanly."

"And with the vic's blood too," Castle said, looking at the picture of the writing on the woman's chest. "It looks like it was a brush. A very fine brush because the dots and the strokes are straight, no smudges."

"So she had to be dead," Beckett said. She then tensed up and asked, "What if he tried to assault her when she was already dead?"

"I've been thinking that too but… trying not to," Castle said. "If that's the case, this safe haven could mean that they were safe from anyone else. He took her as much as he could, and since he was the last, the vic was safe in his mind. Or, that goddess worship angle and she was still pure."

"I'm thinking it's purity that he's more focused on," Beckett said, glancing at him as he turned to look over at the living room. "But she was pure because he took her last, so a mix of what you said." She saw his jaw tense and said, "This really bothers you doesn't it?"

"I… turn off the screen," Castle began before cutting himself off as he heard footsteps coming towards them.

Without a word, Becket quickly did so and turned around in time to see Julia open the door to the bedrooms. "Sweetie, are you okay?" she asked in a little concern.

Shaking her head, Julia hurried to her mother and once she'd been picked up, buried her face into Beckett's neck.

"You didn't have a nightmare did you?" Castle asked, touching her back.

Shaking her head, Julia pulled back enough to say, "Woke up."

"Did you try and fall back asleep?" Beckett asked. When their daughter shook her head again she sighed and glanced at her fiancé.

"I think we should just stay with her until she falls asleep," Castle said.

"Sleep with you?" Julia asked.

"No," Beckett said, controlling her tone. She smiled when Julia sighed and then carried her to her room. "We'll sit with you here until you fall asleep okay?"

"Kay," the little girl said as her mother tucked her in and then she and Castle sat next to her. "Mommy?"

"Yes sweetie?" Beckett said, stroking her hair gently.

"What's a honeymoon?" Julia asked slowly and carefully.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask earlier," Castle said. "It's when two people who just got married go on a trip together, or they spend time alone together. Though in your mom's case and mine we'll be going somewhere."

"Can I get any kind of hint as to where that'll be," Beckett said, leaning back against him slightly.

"Not a clue," Castle said, wrapping his arm around her.

"Do I go too?" Julia whispered, smiling at them.

"It's just for the two of us sweetie, but we'll wish you could have come with us," Beckett promised her.

"And we'll get you some nice things," Castle said. When his fiancée looked back at him he quickly said, "Oh come on, like you weren't thinking the same thing."

Shaking her head, Beckett looked at Julia and said, "Don't worry, you'll stay with Martha and Alexis; and you can stay with your grandpapa if you want to too. So you won't be alone."

"Kay," Julia said. She then bit her lower lip and said slowly, "Do I have to keep saying Martha?"

"Do you want to?" Castle asked when Beckett didn't reply.

"I wanna call her like Alexis… does," Julia said, wincing a little as the c in call hurt her throat.

"You have to ask her, but I don't think she'd mind," Castle said. "Actually, she might want you to, she might insist you do."

"Do you want to call her that now?" Beckett then asked, hoping inwardly the answer would be no as she didn't want Castle thinking she was ready to accept everyone from his family fully but him.

"No, but later at the wedding I do," Julia said, looking down at her Stitch doll. She yawned a little and looked up at her mother, glancing a little at Castle; thinking he was angry.

"I think she's tired now," he commented. He stood up then and leaned down, kissing the little girl's forehead before she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you Julia, sweet dreams again," he told her seriously, knowing she was a little worried as to what he thought of what they'd been discussing.

"I love you too sweetie," Beckett said, kissing her then. She stood up and made sure Julia was tucked in before telling her, "Sweet dreams." Going to the doorway, she stood there with Castle until they were sure that their daughter had fallen asleep again. She shut the lights while he got the door, and she waited until they were out in the living room again to talk. "You know she loves you," she said. "The way she was worried-"

"Believe me, I know," Castle said. "I just wonder why she won't call my mother gram yet."

"She wants to be sure you won't leave us, she doesn't want to be hurt," Beckett reminded him.

"I know, but my mom?" Castle said. "She's crazy about Julia."

"She is, but the way our daughter was raised," Beckett said. "She's guarded with her emotions, as you know."

"Pretty well I think," Castle said. "Another reason why I want to get married to you."

"Me too," Beckett agreed. "Okay, so I think I'm done with the case tonight, I can call the boys tomorrow with what we thought of. But it's still early, so what would you like to do?"

"Movie?" Castle asked.

"Sure," Beckett said. She went with him to sit on the couch and watched him pick out a movie from her player. " _Good Ol' Freda_?" she asked, looking back at him since he was sitting behind her.

"Read the summary," Castle said simply.

Scanning the few lines, Beckett shook her head and said, "Really?"

"It says PG, but I know you want to vet stuff for her, plus I don't know if she'll like it that much," Castle said. "We need to find out. So do you want to try this or we'll watch something else."

"This is fine," Beckett said, glancing at the length of the movie. She turned and settled back against Castle as the movie started. They were both quiet, enthralled with the story of the woman who had been the secretary for The Beatles and the fan club president during the band's career, and it wasn't until after a message from Ringo at the end that she spoke. "She might enjoy that, she'll love hearing that this woman was friends with Paul," turning to Castle.

"We should watch it with her one night," he agreed. "Another movie? A slightly more adult movie?"

"I don't think so," Beckett said, shaking her head though she was smiling. "I'm unsure what you mean by more adult and I don't need her coming out to see us watching porn."

"Not that adult," Castle said in mock exasperation as he turned off the TV and followed her to her bedroom. "I wouldn't want to risk Julia seeing that either."

"Great, but I would like to get some rest," Beckett said. "So I'm going to change. You don't need to, but you're welcome to join me if you want to."

"I might read a little," Castle said simply before she went into the bathroom. He changed into his pajamas and took his phone from his pants pocket before he forgot and put it on top of the dresser before it started to ring. "Mother?" he asked, answering it.

Stepping out into the room, Beckett was a little surprised to see that Castle was on the phone, but then quickly discerned that he was speaking with his mom. She smiled as he said, "Are you sure? No I can get the reservations no problem, but you don't need to do that… okay, sure, you're welcome Mother, goodnight." When he'd hung up she asked, "What did she want reservations for?" as she sat behind him on the bed.

"Mother's Day," Castle said with a slight hesitation before he spoke. He could feel his fiancée's stare and he finally said, "I was going to surprise you, but I was going to make dinner for us, your dad and my mother, but she just said she wants to instead have dinner at Tavern on the Green with her friend Brenda Prescott, whose family is in Hawaii and won't be here for the day."

"That's nice of her," Beckett said. "You know we could have lunch with them."

"That's what she suggested. That we have lunch together; we do the whole exchanging of gifts before we go to the café, and then you, me and Julia get dessert to take into the park," Castle said. "And unless your dad doesn't want to join us, then I'll be making dinner for the four of us."

"I don't think he'll want to," Beckett said. "It's amazing he wants to celebrate the day at all."

Turning slightly so he could look at her, Castle said, "Are you okay with celebrating? Because you don't seem to want to talk about it that much."

"No, I am, just… there a lot of things I wish could happen but… I know Julia's eager to celebrate it," Beckett said. "And I am too. I want to celebrate being a mother, but I miss mine."

"That's expected," Castle said, taking her hand. "I'll make sure this first one is a good one for you. Well, Julia and I will make sure."

"Thank you, but I'll call my dad tomorrow and check if he's okay with the change in plans," Beckett replied, smiling slightly. "Any reason why your mom wants to do that?"

"Change what I'd suggested?" Castle asked. When Beckett nodded he said, "She just said something about the three of us getting a chance to celebrate alone."

"That doesn't surprise me," Beckett said with a wider smile. "Okay, so I agree to whatever it is you have in mind; do you still want to go to a museum?"

"Sure, let's go after the park," Castle said as he was getting a number from his contacts on his phone. "And if you'll excuse me, I'll go ahead and give the restaurant a call and make sure to get my mom a table."

Beckett sat back as she watched him speak to whoever it was he knew at the place, smiling as her fiancé made some small talk before carefully asking for reservations for a table. When he hung up she asked, "All set?"

"We are," Castle replied, setting his phone down on the nightstand. "So-" he began to say when he felt Beckett's arms come around him suddenly.

"Great," she said in response before she pressed her lips to the shell of his ear. Feeling him shuddering, Beckett slid down to the lobe before pulling away, waiting for a moment to make him guess what she'd do next before she moved.

Tensing up when her teeth gently grabbed at his ear lobe, Castle waited for her to pull back after her initial nibble, and turned to her, grabbing her wrists. He looked into her eyes then, and said, "This is what you want."

At first a little hurt he'd even asked that, Becket then realized the reason why, and she took her arms from his grasp, wrapping them around his neck. She pressed her forehead to his and said, "It is, and it's not 'this,' but you."

Able to tell from her tone of voice that she was serious, Castle wrapped both arms around her tightly, holding her flush against him as they kissed. His last hesitation disappeared with that, and he threw himself into their kiss as he decided they didn't need to have the thought of what had almost happened in the case to invade their intimacy. He pulled away when they needed to breathe, and cupped her cheek in his hand before he brushed his lips over her neck to her sigh of delight. Shuddering inwardly in the pleasure that caused him, he moved to the hollow of her throat before pulling back.

Beckett responded to Castle's lips against hers as fast as she could, but he was soon moving to her shoulder, kissing her through her old t-shirt. She looked on as he reached up, cupping her breasts in his hands, through faded navy cotton. Biting her lower lip, she let him continue for only a few seconds more before drawing him up to her mouth. They kissed, and she embraced him tightly, almost desperately, pushing her body to his as close as she possibly could.

Deepening the kiss as he could feel her pressing her breasts against his chest, Castle tried to make it last as long as he could, but he had to break it off as they were nearly gasping for air. He cupped her cheeks and nuzzled her lips with his own before they started to kiss again. They kept doing that, kissing passionately before easing off a little and then meeting again. By the time he moved his head back from yet another kiss, he was more than a little aroused by her, and he had to wonder if she was too. "You don't really have any protests," he said more than asked.

Smiling at that, Beckett said, "Only one." When he pulled away, a surprised look on his face; she leaned over to close the gap between them and said, "We're moving a little too slowly," before taking his lips in a slow, sensuous kiss.

At that, Castle waited until they had yet again parted before he moved, reaching for the bottom of her shirt. He wasn't too surprised that there was no response from her at that, only lifting her arms to aid him before he tossed it over the side of the bed without a second thought. He let her do the same with his own shirt, and got on his knees; since she was already sitting on hers in front of him. He was tempted to touch; his fingers were already feeling the skin of her breasts underneath them, aching at the imagined pressure and silkiness of it; but he instead wrapped his arms around her, holding her by the small of her back before leaning down and kissing her again.

Feeling Castle's hands roaming over her back, Beckett couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her body, but made sure she didn't end the kiss. She eventually did, but as if to make up for that, she slid her hands from around his neck down his chest. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, before she bent her head. She pressed her lips in a line over his shoulder before coming back to his neck and quickly nipping at his pulse, feeling his hands gripping her back once, and tightly. Raising her head, she kept her mouth close to his skin, feeling him shaking in response to her. She smiled as she wrapped her hands back around his neck; having spent that time stroking at and around his nipples; and she leaned in to him so he could feel her breath against him. "I can torture you too," she teased him, wanting to suddenly push him.

"You can, but I'm not caving in," Castle said decisively before he kissed her. He was rough, but his hands were careful as they went to the small of her back again. At that point he moved her to lie down in the middle of the bed, following her enough so they still kissed before they had to stop. It was then he moved back enough to look at her; deciding that he'd yet to find a state of undress or nearly naked that she didn't look insanely sexy in. Shaking that thought from his head, he leaned down and pressed his lips to the hollow of her throat, feeling the cool of her aquamarine against the corner of his mouth. He looked up at her then, not surprised she met his gaze intently as he began to move, descending her body slowly, deliberately.

Her skin jumping with each touch of Castle's lips, Beckett grabbed the blanket underneath her, breathing roughly at the feel of him. When he reached the edge of her pants, she expected him to sit up and take off the rest of her clothes. But instead he made her get up, standing next to the bed, and he pressed a few kisses on her abdomen before leaning back, which made her quickly figure out what he wanted. She didn't protest; since she had none to voice; and undressed herself. Though her body was begging her to hurry and go as fast as she could, she ignored that, and instead went slowly, wanting to tease him as he'd teased her.

Castle sucked in a breath of air as he watched her carefully reveal her body to him, and he swallowed a little hard a few times as his mouth began to water. He grabbed her by the hips when she had stepped out of the clothing pooled to the floor around her feet. Rubbing her stomach before he let one hand slide down to the apex of her legs. He shuddered at her skin, warm to the touch, and then used his fingers to gently ease a path to her swollen nub there. He wasn't really shocked to find it slick with her arousal, but was when she grabbed him suddenly.

Kissing him a little frantically, Beckett made Castle take off the rest of his own clothes, having to guide him at first since she couldn't tell him what to do. They calmed down a little before parting, and she ran her hands down his chest again. But that time, instead of stopping, she continued straight to his arousal, watching him close his eyes tightly the instant she did that. She proceeded to stroke him, not really shocked to find him as aroused as he was; she was herself; but only did that a few times as she'd let him do to her. Letting go of him, she slid her hands back up over his shoulders, wrapping them around his neck as he held her against him as they kissed yet again. It was a quick kiss then, as he promptly picked her up, laying her in the middle of the bed and she kept her hold on him as he climbed up to lay between her legs which she parted for him before he could direct her with his touch.

Leaning down, Castle brushed his lips against hers once, before pulling back to look at her. He did that a second time, but before he could move away from her too much, Beckett was grabbing the back of his head and holding him in place. He didn't fight it, as he was eventually planning on kissing her as hard as she was then, but he fought against her tongue in his mouth before they were moving past her lips. When the need to breathe won out over continuing, he moved away, but ran his lips down over her chin. He kissed at her throat before detouring to press them against her pulse, the quickened rhythm making him open his mouth to take some of her skin with his teeth.

Tense at that, Beckett didn't move or say a word until he let go of her; letting out a sigh of relief he hadn't done much more than that. Even though they weren't going into the Precinct, she still didn't want to risk their friends seeing her with a mark on her neck. He distracted her from her line of thought as he then proceeded to go over her shoulders and down back and forth to her breasts. Looking down at him as he suddenly nipped at the top of her left mound, Beckett held onto the back of his neck, startled by the action and the sudden rush of pleasure it caused. "You-" she started to say.

Quick to kiss her, Castle covered any protest she had, and at the same time was able to reach up, cupping her breast in his hand before stroking at the nipple. Beckett broke off the kiss almost immediately, and he tried to engage her in another, but she was instead leading his head back down to her chest. Never one to ignore her demands when she was that forceful, he took her breasts with his mouth and hand, working together as he could feel his fiancée's body shifting under him as she let out heavy moans and sighs in response to each flick of his tongue or stroke of his fingers. He wasn't immune to all he was accomplishing though, and finally pulled away to descend lower on her body.

Feeling the trail of pure heat that Castle's lips left in their wake, Beckett raised herself up on her elbows to watch him, breathing heavily as he came nearer to the junction of her legs. She swallowed roughly as he drew his lips over her skin, a brush that made her shiver in joy. He then nuzzled the inside of her thigh, and she had to clamp down on her lower lip to stop herself from yelling at him to hurry. Finally though, his mouth pressed a delicate kiss over her entrance, and she let her body slide back down on the bed as his hand had found its way to the apex of her legs. She felt him kissing her a few times before his tongue suddenly entered her, and she arched her back as she felt another explosion of ecstasy that snaked through her entire form in response.

Holding onto her as she wouldn't stop writhing against him, Castle would have been happy to spend his time where he was until he made her break completely. But he had an idea and after a few more strokes with his tongue that were a little faster than he'd meant, he pulled away carefully and sat up. He was a little taken aback when Beckett was there to meet him, kissing him hard. He shuddered; as he couldn't help remember where his mouth had been seconds before; but didn't stop as he had the feeling she would have easily kicked his ass if he'd tried that. When they parted at the same time, he grabbed her arms to lay her down on the bed, but she wouldn't move. "What-" he began to ask.

"I'm not ready to lie down," Beckett said simply. "Not yet anyways," she continued. She then took the chance while Castle was looking at her in slight uncertainty to force him onto his back where she'd been.

Groaning at the sudden slam of his back against the mattress, Castle grabbed her before she could move saying, "We don't need to wait."

"And yet you were happy to delay by having your way with my body," Beckett said. "And while I enjoyed it," she said as she lay on top of him. "Enormously. I want more."

Unable to reply to that as she suddenly kissed him, Castle waited until they stopped long enough for him to speak; which took more time than he thought since they couldn't keep their mouths apart for a while. But he was finally able to say, "You can have more just… not so much I'm out."

Beckett just smiled at that and stroked his cheek as she nuzzled his lips with her own. "I know your limits Castle and I think you know mine too," she told him, their lips meeting with each word she spoke. She let him initiate another kiss, but didn't let it last before she was moving, going over his chin as he'd done with her. But unlike him, she flicked her tongue out once, and did the same when she was at his throat. She went to his chest, stroking first one of his nipples and then the other as he held her tightly around the small of her back. When she took turns taking both with her mouth and tongue, she felt a sense of triumph as Castle groaned hard and bucked up against her body. She was careful how long she did that though, and was soon going further and further down until she had reached his arousal.

Opening his eyes when he realized by touch where she was; her hair brushing against his thighs; Castle sat up and tried to grab Beckett before she could do anything. But he was too slow, and she had the very tip of him in her mouth. He hissed loudly; the sound like a shot in the otherwise quiet room; and had to clench the blanket under him before he grabbed the back of her head. He forced himself then to watch her, as if daring himself to try and reach completion before he was ready to.

Though she found herself tempted to take Castle all the way to the end, Beckett only allowed herself a few slow, deliberate passes with her mouth before she got up on her knees, straddling him as she could hear his sigh of relief. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply as he held her tight against his chest. Her head tilted back and forth as her fiancé seemed to be a little hungry, his lips trying to devour her and her responding with trying to keep him from taking over the best she could. Finally, he was pulling away, and she relaxed before he kissed her again. That time though, it was a slow, gentle kiss and she found herself responding to it the best she could as he laid her down on the bed again. When he moved back, she opened her eyes to find his body flush against hers, allowing her to feel everything, more specifically the fact that he hadn't lost his desire. Breathing in deeply, she wrapped her legs around him and lowered her hand in between them.

Quick to take that hand, Castle used it to help him in entering her, both of them groaning at almost the same time as they finally gave each other what their bodies had been demanding for a long time that night. Inside of her, he waited, not really to tease her, but more so he could feel; not something he'd never done before, but there was another reason for it. He hadn't intended on being rough with her that night, too many memories and the case making him crave her in a far different way. As he began to move, he breathed out once as she was quick to join him, and he began his rhythm, a concentrated, slow pace that let him feel her as she drew him to her lips.

As they kissed deeply, Beckett was appreciative of how he was making love to her; though she enjoyed whatever he gave her. But she knew he had been disturbed by the case, and worried about her, and that had led to the way he was moving against her, making her entire body hum with pleasure. So while she was enjoying it, she proceeded to help him, wanting to make sure he forgot everything else but her. She started by moving her right leg higher up against his side, until her knee was nearly under his arm. Luckily she had done enough yoga over the years for that not to be uncomfortable, but she had never really done it when they were taking things very simply. She breathed heavily as he ran his hand over her skin, the sound loud as they were making next to none in their thrusts against one another. She then moved her leg back down to his waist, and grabbed the back of his head.

Not really too surprised when she lead him down to her breasts, Castle carefully nuzzled first one nipple, then the other to Beckett's quick gasp. He made sure they were staring at one another before he proceeded to suckle at her right mound, groaning a little as she suddenly jerked against his body in response. He moved between both, and used his hand as well until he moved back up to her lips, taking them in a rough, hungry kiss. Their rhythm never faltered, and they moved slowly, deliberately together before he could feel her hand along their sides. He broke off the kiss and took her hand in his, kissing the palm and fingers wildly before he put it around his neck. That done, he kissed her yet again, and didn't stop, going back to her lips once he'd had enough air to do it all over again. It wasn't until some time had passed that he stopped moving, a little surprised when she did as well. Knowing by that that he had her approval, he got up, taking her with him so they were both on their knees in the middle of the bed.

Cupping his cheeks once they weren't moving, Beckett stroked them slowly as they pressed their foreheads together and she felt his breath against her lower lip. It gave her an idea, and she nipped at his, smiling when Castle grunted, fingertips pressing into the small of her back. She then tilted her head a little, kissing his cheek before going back to his ear. She gently bit at the lobe, feeling at the same time his breath expelling on her shoulder before he pulled her back. She could see she had pushed him even with that little bit, and it made her even more aroused when she saw the look in his eyes. She fell into another kiss with him easily, and they held onto one another tightly as it became a little frantic.

Unable to take much more of it, Castle laid Beckett back on the bed, without ever breaking the contact between their lips. As they were still busy, by then their tongues were rubbing against each other in her mouth, he began to move again, not really surprised when she was quick to follow his rhythm. He groaned into her mouth at the first few times they did that together, but the familiar sensation of her tight around him and very much wet took over and he pulled away to concentrate on only that as they kept their lips close together.

Beckett was feeling much the same as he was, and she found herself breathing roughly as he was working her slowly to the edge. She was a little startled out of her concentration on the sensation of him moving within her when he grabbed her right leg. She glanced down to see him pulling it high up on his side as she'd placed it briefly before, and the next time he sank into her she was biting hard on her lower lip. "Castle," she said on an exhale as he let her go and didn't stop.

Shuddering at her tone of voice, Castle leaned down and kissed her, nibbling at her lower lip as she'd drawn him in biting it earlier. He let that continue before she was the one to break it off, and he then went to her neck, kissing here and there. He slid down to her shoulder, nipping a little at her skin as she slid her hands over the back of his head. He noticed then she was looking down, and followed her gaze, shaking again as he could easily see them moving together. He knew she couldn't, and felt a little bad, but decided at some point he'd have to make use of a mirror. But that was a quick, almost fleeting thought as they kissed once more, and the second they were done he was almost attacking her breasts to her short cry that seemed full of joy in its tone.

Opening her eyes when he suddenly stopped, Beckett took the moment to recover from almost toppling over the edge. But she felt highly unsatisfied as they lay still except for their chests rising and falling with their panting breath. So she finally decided that she'd had enough, and she drew him to her lips, kissing him carefully. "Don't stop anymore," she commanded him sternly.

"Right," Castle said simply, as he knew how she was feeling. He proceeded to move again, and he took her leg off his side before she spread them apart for him. Sucking in a deep breath of air at the sensation that caused around him, he had to struggle not to move faster than he was. He was just able to control himself, and once he felt he was safe at the pace he was moving at, he leaned down, brushing his lips against hers gently. When he moved he went to her ear, and lightly kissed it before nibbling at it, wanting to push her then.

Arching her back as she could hear Castle's slight grunts of pleasure in response to how they were moving together, Becket ran her nails over his head, feeling him shaking with each pass of them. She eventually made him come back to her, and they kissed deeply before she lost the last shred of her self control as she cried out what she thought was his name, her legs almost snapping around his waist as she was moving hard against him. A few seconds later though, he was there with her and their hips slapped together, but was covered by her cries and his loud groans of her name. She was a little out of it until she was aware that she was laying still and his weight was on her body. Before it could become uncomfortable though, he was moving, propping himself above her with his arms as she looked up at him. "We haven't done that for a while," she commented.

"We lose control," Castle said simply, leaning down and nuzzling her neck with his lips.

"You lose control, I end up getting sucked in and following," Beckett replied. She smiled as he moved lower and she carefully stopped him. "I'm a little tired still."

"Me too, but I couldn't let another opportunity pass me by," Castle said simply. He laid down next to her then and realized they were still on the blanket at nearly the same time she did. Together they got up and pushed it aside before lying back on the bed and drawing the sheet over them. "So, assuming we're not going in for the case, which I'm guessing you don't want to do?" he began.

"If we can help it," Beckett replied simply. "I'd really love to stay home with her. She is getting better faster than I thought she would though, I guess the recovery time is better with all the time between now and when I had it as well."

"I'm glad they did, it was hard enough seeing her struggle to speak some words," Castle said.

"I know, but let's try our best to stay home," Beckett commented.

"Are you keeping her home the rest of the week?" Castle asked.

Smiling as he'd started to stroke her hair carefully, Beckett nodded and said, "Why, you don't think I should?"

"No, no, I agree, I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to make her go back to school," Castle said.

"She had the fever before it," Beckett said. "So she's still a little weak. Except for those bursts of energy; remember the game?"

"I know," Castle said, smiling as he recalled playing UNO and the way Julia had been so exuberant during it.

"Oh, get up," Beckett said suddenly, sliding out from under the sheet.

"Why?" Castle asked, watching her walk over to her dresser. "You want to check on Julia?" he then said as she was taking out what he guessed were pajamas.

"No, well, actually I do, now. I didn't want us to keep the door closed all night, just in case," Beckett told him.

Getting out of the bed himself, Castle let out a slightly frustrated sigh, and when his fiancée looked at him he said, "Sorry, I thought we were going to doing some serious cuddling for a while… What?" he ended in a question as he saw she was biting back laughter.

"Nothing, it's just not a phrase I would have imagined coming out of your mouth," Beckett said simply. "Come on, when we get back we can do some more… cuddling as you put it."

Breathing out as her tone ended on a slightly more seductive tone, Castle threw on his black pajama shirt last and hurried to follow her down the hall once she'd unlocked and opened her door. Inside their daughter's room he looked over her shoulder at Julia, who was fast asleep and slightly out of the covers.

Taking the sheet and blanket from where their daughter had kicked them to, Beckett tucked Julia in as carefully as she could, not wanting to wake her up. When she had finished she froze as the little girl turned over suddenly, thinking she was going to wake up.

Relaxing at the same as Beckett when all Julia did was lay on her back, Castle leaned down past her and kissed her forehead before brushing his hand over it. "Her fever is definitely gone," he told his fiancée.

Nodding, Beckett looked on as Castle brushed his lips over Julia's forehead again, and she then did the same, resisting the temptation to give her a kiss on the lips since she really didn't want to wake her up. "We'd better go," she said after a few minutes and they were standing there, watching their daughter. She took Castle's hand and they went back to her room where she climbed into bed before he joined her. "The lights?" she said as he was about to lie down.

"Are you sure?" Castle asked.

"I am," Beckett said. Once the room was dark and they were laying down together she said, "Sorry, but I'm still tired from last night."

"I am too, but it was worth a shot," Castle commented. He placed his chin on the top of her head as she was pressed against his side and said, "But you don't want to go to sleep quite yet."

"No," Beckett said with a smile. "I need to make myself need to sleep. A little hard with what we were just doing."

"Good point," Castle said. "We couldn't take her outside yet could we?"

"I don't want to until Thursday or Friday," Beckett said. "So tomorrow we should just keep her busy, have her rest still; she might be talking, but it'll be a while until she can do so without whispering. And so you know, I wouldn't be mad if you wanted to head to the station to help the boys."

"I'm good," Castle replied simply. He could feel his fiancée's gaze on him and smiled slightly saying, "I'm not kidding. What kind of father would I be exactly if I just left you to care for our daughter who's recovering from surgery?"

Breathing in deeply, Beckett then confessed, "I'm getting used to having you with me, I've spent almost a full year as a single parent."

"I know, but if we just give it some time you'll hopefully remember I'm here with you," Castle said. "And I told you how Meredith wasn't really there to help me raise Alexis when she got to her toddler years. I don't want Julia to have the opposite; her dad not there to help her mom."

"So the Mr. Mom part of your life helped me out," Beckett commented jokingly, though she was incredibly touched and didn't really want to let him know.

"Yes," Castle said simply before he got up and turned on the light. Looking back at his fiancée he smiled and said, "So you love me even more for that don't you?"

Pushing his shoulder; though she was smiling; Beckett then climbed on top of him and turned off the light. Before she could go back to her side of the bed though, he was suddenly grabbing her by the waist. "Castle," she said in a slightly warning tone of voice.

"Say it," he teased her.

Slapping his shoulder, Beckett was able to get out of his grasp and she lay down on her back with some distance between them. The second he was laying on top of her, she stopped him from kissing her and with a wide smile; since her plan to unsettle him had worked perfectly; whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too Kate," Castle then said, his voice somber in tone. He would have smiled at Beckett's surprise he was just able to make out in the dark, but he closed the gap between them, and proceeded to kiss her deeply.

The second that she responded, Castle and Beckett let that kiss turn into several, only quick pants of air breaking them apart. When they finally had to stop, they allowed themselves to get some much needed rest, but not before a final kiss that was gentler than anything else, and a few whispered words that matched their last kiss of the night, which permeated the otherwise silent room.


	6. Flowers In Your Hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is from the title of the song song San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers In Your Hair) by John Phillips.

Looking down at Castle as she ran the back of her hand over his cheek, Beckett waited to see if she'd woken him up when he only reached up to wrap his arm tighter around her waist. She had just smoothed down some of his hair that had gotten messed up in sleep when he shifted, and then opened his eyes. "Hey," she said with a smile.

"Hey, why are you staring at me?" Castle asked, clearing his throat as his voice was still thick.

"There's something I remembered I wanted to talk to you about," Beckett said simply.

"Good or bad?" Castle said. "Because if it's bad-"

"It's not; it's more of a question. Do you know what one of the meanings of orange colored roses is?" Beckett interrupted him.

"Yeah, pride," Castle said. "I am very proud of our daughter; and you too, the bouquet was supposed to be from us both; but I'm proud of her for being so brave. And in general I'm proud too." He then looked at her closely and said, "How do you know?"

"Some girls go through that phase of finding out colors and flowers themselves mean something," Beckett said. "When I was fourteen Jackie Lennox and I found a book in the library about that and we started designing our prom corsages and wedding bouquets." She laughed softly at the memory as she laid down saying, "We eventually realized that guys didn't really care about that, when a boy that she liked gave her some freesia flowers; apparently his mother grew them. But they mean innocence and friendship; and in the Japanese flower meaning they mean childish and innocence too. So we set aside the meanings, because they were really nice flowers."

"I've given you nice ones," Castle said, suddenly trying to remember what he'd given her, hoping the meaning wasn't as negative as that.

"You have, you don't need to worry," Beckett assured him as she reached up to cup his cheek since he was sitting above her.

"What about white tulips and delphinium?" Castle asked.

"So you're aware of the meanings of the colors of roses, but not other flowers?" Beckett said to make sure. When he nodded she took a deep breath and said, "I think the tulips mean purity and innocence, but there could be other meanings you know, I'm just remembering what was in the book."

"I'll take what you said, that fits Julia pretty well," Castle replied. "And the delphinium?"

Sighing as she ran her hands over her eyes, Beckett finally recalled and said, "Heavenly… qualities." She sat up then and said, "You knew the meaning of those."

"I knew," Castle said. "When you're deciding on the flowers you're going to be giving your fiancée on your wedding day you don't want to tell her when you give her the bouquet she's child-like."

"I'd be giving the freesia to you," Beckett teased him. She smiled when he leaned over, kissing her shoulder, and she said, "I'm assuming you know what the other two mean?"

"I do, purity and wholeness for the white orchid, not sure about the purity part…" Castle said, trailing off as he looked down her body; what he could see of it above the covers. "But I guess wholeness would apply to us getting married."

"And that yin and yang you compared us to before," Beckett pointed out.

"That's true. The Bells of Ireland I found out basically mean good luck," Castle said. "Which I'm going to say right now will mean good luck for our marriage."

"Of course," Beckett said, smiling at him. "An interesting bouquet, but what made you pick the last one?"

"I've always liked those, and they're different, you don't usually see a green flower," Castle said.

"You're lucky I like them too," Beckett said, smiling when he looked at her in confusion. Before he could ask to see if she was serious, she wrapped her arms around him and the force of that made them lay back on the bed as she kissed him at the same time. She was pleased when he responded immediately, but things got out of her control when he turned her onto her back. She moaned slightly as he reached down to part her legs, brushing up in between then as he moved to place his hand on her hip. Not sure if she would be able to, she was relieved when she managed to pull away from him, and stopped him from kissing her again.

"You don't-" Castle began; a little surprised she'd stopped since she had initiated things.

"The door's open," Beckett said softly. She had to smile when Castle groaned and pressed his face into her shoulder.

"Is he okay?" Julia cried in a whisper as she suddenly ran into the room then.

Jumping off his fiancée in surprise, Castle made a face at her as she laughed while sitting up. "I'm fine sweetheart," he said to their daughter as she walked up to the bed. "What about you?"

"Kay," Julia said, climbing up onto the bed with his help. "You didn't go."

"No, I'm hoping once I call your uncles we'll be able to stay until next week," Beckett said.

"Mommy?" Julia asked then. "What about summer?"

"What about summer?" Beckett asked.

"What do you do?" Julia said, speaking in a whisper since her throat was still sore.

"I still need to work, but we will have the wedding at the end of the summer. What do you think about going to the Hamptons for the last week of August again?" Beckett replied, directing the question to Castle.

"Maybe we should wait for a weekend in September, after school starts since we might be on our honeymoon until she and Alexis go back to school if we get married in August," he said, wondering if they'd be going as a family or still waiting to become one by the time they got to that month.

"Don't we go now?" Julia asked.

"Yeah, for Memorial Day, but there's nothing wrong with going again," Castle replied. "Are you excited to go?"

Julia nodded and then said, "I'm hungry Mommy."

"Okay, let me get dressed and then I'll make something," Beckett said as she moved to get out of bed. She was a little surprised when she felt the little girl grab her and turned to get a tight hug from her. "Are you alright sweetie?" she asked.

"I love you Mommy," Julia said.

"I love you too Julia," Beckett said, smiling at Castle who reached over to run his hand over the back of their daughter's hair. She shared a kiss with Julia then, and said, "Let Castle help you change, and I'll see you out in the kitchen okay?"

"Ice cream?" Julia queried.

Looking at her fiancé, Beckett shook her head as he held his hands up in a defensive gesture saying, "I don't think Alexis ever really ate ice cream for breakfast. When she was younger?"

"Not even then, which kind of scared me, because I would try so many times when I was little to get to it before my mother woke up," Castle said. He took Julia when Beckett got off the bed and grabbed her wrist before she could get too far away. "A quick one, I think you owe me," he told her when she looked at him in slight confusion.

"I owe you nothing," Beckett scoffed. But as she was speaking she leaned down and kissed him deeply on the lips, keeping it short since Julia was on his lap.

Watching as his fiancée went into the bathroom with some clothes; Castle breathed out once and looked down at Julia who was pressing her cheek to his chest. "I think I'm supposed to help you get dressed," he told her as he got off the bed.

"Kay, can I wear clothes?" Julia whispered as he carried her to her room.

"That's up to you, you can wear a t-shirt since you don't need to go to school," Castle said. He helped her pick out a shirt and skirt to wear before letting her change, only helping when she needed it. "Okay," he told her once he'd straightened the leggings she'd chosen. "You look great, are you a little tired now?"

"Is it bad?" Julia asked after she'd nodded.

"Oh no, you had surgery yesterday sweetie," Beckett said, coming into the room then. She smiled when Julia kissed Castle's cheek with a whispered thanks and then hurried to hug her around the waist. She stroked their daughter's hair as she told him, "Get dressed, I need you to keep her occupied while I cook."

"Right," Castle said, standing up. "While you're waiting for me, think of what you want to do today, but we're staying inside okay?"

"Kay," Julia replied with a little smile. Her mother walked with her out to the kitchen and she said, "My throat hurts Mommy."

"I know, I'll have Castle get you something to drink," Beckett said, putting her on the chair at the counter. She kissed her daughter's cheek and started focusing on preparing the meal, knowing she needed to get Julia something to eat to give her her medicine. She almost could forget about the case, but as she turned to the little girl, her view was largely obstructed by the vases of flowers and she was reminded of the victim. "Okay?" she asked, looking through the space in two to try and forget the image that memory provided.

"Yeah, I'm thinking," Julia said with a smile. She looked at the flowers and said, "I wish they didn't go bad Mommy."

"I know, but we took pictures of them so you'll be able to remember them," Beckett reminded her before she began to scramble some eggs.

"They'll be great additions to your photo albums," Castle said, coming into the room then. He picked up Julia from the chair and was going to walk to the couch when Beckett stopped him.

"Here, see if these are too hard to eat," she said to their daughter, holding up a fork with eggs on it to her.

"I can do it Mommy," Julia said, tilting her head away as she grabbed the fork.

Smiling as his fiancée looked at him and shook her head, Castle then looked at Julia as she nodded. "I guess that means it's good?" he asked.

"It is, go," Beckett said, waving him away. "We'll eat on the coffee table today. And I hope you don't mind, I don't have bacon today."

"That's fine, are you going to give them a call?" Castle asked.

"After," Beckett said, not wanting to turn her attention fully to the case yet.

"Okay, I've got lunch," Castle said before he then took Julia over to the couch.

Beckett smiled a little before she turned her attention back to the eggs. She heard Julia laughing softly at something Castle was saying, and she hurriedly finished to join them before more time passed, wanting already to make up for the day before.

* * *

"You're sure it's okay we talk to your uncles?" Castle was asking Julia after they'd eaten and had cleaned up from breakfast. When the little girl nodded, he went to Beckett's office and sat in her desk chair as she started to pull up Esposito's number on her phone.

Before she could hit the call button though, the phone began to ring, and it was Esposito himself. "Espo?" she asked as she answered, slight surprise in her tone.

"Yeah, Beckett, Ryan and I were talking about if we should call you, but we figured you'd want us to," the detective said.

"What is it?" Beckett said.

"We have another body," Esposito said simply.

"Another?" Beckett said in surprise, seeing Castle looking up at her. She motioned to him and tilted the phone away from her ear as he leaned against her so he could hear as well.

"Yeah, an apartment on the other side of town from the first vic," Esposito said.

"Was she posed the same as the other?" Beckett asked.

"No, but you'll recognize the killer's handiwork if you see it," Esposito replied, hesitating at the end.

"I'll go, but you'll have to give me some time to see if I can get Mrs. Parker to watch Julia," Beckett said, hesitating before she spoke, looking at her fiancé.

Nodding slightly, Castle turned to go to Julia to explain to her that they were going when he stopped before he could take a step. Their daughter was in the doorway to the room, looking up at him. Glancing back at Beckett he went to Julia and picked her up, carrying her out to the living room saying, "We don't want to go again, but-"

"It's kay, if you have to help you can help," Julia said with a slight smile.

"But we will not stay that long," Beckett said. "Well, we'll try not to. I was thinking of having your mom watch her," she said to Castle.

"I don't think she has any classes today," he replied, trying to remember. When Beckett stood up to make the call in the kitchen he looked at Julia, who was looking at her slippers on her feet and said, "We'll be back for dinner, and we'll try out that Jell-O, I promise."

"Whipped cream?" Julia asked hopefully. When Castle nodded she smiled and then looked up as Beckett sat down with them again. "You don't go yet?" she asked. When both her mother and Castle shook their heads no she clapped her hands together once and took her mother's phone out of her hands.

"What are you doing?" Beckett asked as they watched her.

"Can we take a picture?" Julia asked.

"Sure, but let's do it with my phone," Castle said. "And while you and I wait for my mom we can send it to Alexis."

"Kay," Julia said, handing her mother back her phone. She was going to stay where she was; sitting next to Castle; for the picture, but he moved her in between him and her mother, and she smiled widely as he took it. She was allowed to see it first and smiled again at it.

"Did it come out good?" Beckett asked. When Julia nodded she sighed and said, "I better go, if I wait any longer they're going to wonder why it took me so long to wait for the neighbor."

"You can just say Mrs. Parker and your dad were doing other things, or you couldn't get a hold of them," Castle said, since he could tell she was reluctant to leave.

"Alright, since Martha's watched her already it won't be unbelievable," Beckett said, sitting back and taking Julia on her lap.

"Mommy, why do you have to go? Is it bad?" the little girl suddenly asked as they were quiet.

"Your uncles just need our help," Castle said simply. "That's all, but we'll try and solve this as fast as we can."

"There's your mom," Beckett said when there was a knock at the door. She hurried over with Julia in her arms, but Castle beat her to it and as his mother walked in said, "Thank you so much for watching her."

"It's no trouble at all, I did want to see how Julia is doing today," Martha said, smiling as the little girl waved at her.

"Okay, I'll call when we come home, but in case we're not here for lunch, there's food for her ready to go," Beckett said, setting Julia down so she could put on her coat. "And sweetie, try and have fun but please rest," she said as she knelt down in front of her.

"I will, be careful Mommy," Julia whispered seriously.

"I will," Beckett replied in the same tone before she hugged Julia to her tightly. "I love you sweetie," she said after they exchanged a kiss and she then stood.

Watching her mother and Castle talk about how long he should wait before joining her at the crime scene, Julia smiled when they kissed briefly before her mother thanked Martha again and then left. She looked up at the two and said, "Can I go back inside?"

"Go ahead," Castle said. When she was on the couch, he turned to his mother and said, "There are some crime scene photos on Kate's computer, don't let her go on it."

"Of course, do they really need you both?" Martha asked, having been able to tell that her son and his fiancée hadn't really wanted to leave.

"It's a weird one Mother," Castle said before he quickly; and quietly; explained what they knew of the crime so far. "So I think Ryan and Esposito want us to help to figure out why this guy posed… is posing, his vics like this. But we're having a hard time settling on one theory since we have little to go on. But we are going to come back as soon as we can." He looked at his watch, and seeing that enough time had passed, he told her, "I should go, it's been long enough."

Looking up from the book she held in her hands, Julia frowned briefly and said, "Time to go?"

"Yeah, but we'll call or come back soon," Castle promised before he picked her up. "And your mom already told you what to do, so I'll just say I love you sweetheart." He smiled a little when she nodded, and he then pulled back to share a kiss with her. He set her down on the couch and kissed the top of her head before going to his mother who was at the door. "Call us if anything happens okay?"

"Go Richard, I'll take care of my granddaughter," Martha said, ushering him through the door. Once he was gone, she locked the door and turned to Julia, clapping her hands together saying, "Why don't we play a game?"

"Can we draw?" Julia whispered, smiling at her. "I want to draw flowers and listen to music."

"Then that is what we will do. Are you going to give the picture to your mother and Richard?" Martha asked. She smiled when Julia nodded, and kissed her cheek, taking her hand to get her art supplies.

* * *

"Was she okay when you left?" Beckett asked as soon as Castle had stepped out of the elevator at the building of the next victim.

"Yeah, but obviously she's not happy about it," he replied before they reached the open doorway an officer was guarding. He followed Beckett inside once she'd shown her badge, and they walked though the living room, seeing an older woman talking with Esposito.

"Thanks for coming," Ryan said. He hesitated and then said, "Did you come together?"

"I filled him in once he got here," Beckett said quickly and in an offhand tone. "Though Espo didn't really tell me that much."

"Yeah, there's a reason," Ryan said, turning and leading them to a door in the back of the room. "Our vic is Francis Kelly; her mother came over because she couldn't get a hold of her. The two normally talk before the vic heads in to classes at the Fashion Institute and she never answered her mother's calls. When she came inside she saw this in the bedroom."

Looking down at floor, Beckett saw some puddles of water, and she quickly looked over at the bed, but there was no one positioned there. Looking at Ryan, she was surprised to see him going to the bathroom, and she and Castle followed, pausing at the doorway as they took in what was inside.

"That's… a pond?" Castle said.

"Yeah, complete with plants and stones," Ryan said as the two stepped up to the tub where their vic was positioned with her right foot just inside the water. "They knew it was the same as the first vic because the detail in the environment and the dress she's wearing is a little similar."

"But she is not," Beckett said, looking at the young woman. "How old is she?"

"Thirty," Ryan answered.

"Okay, so he's not choosing by their age or looks," Beckett said, frowning.

"What about their hair?" Castle suddenly said as Beckett was looking at the dress the vic was wearing.

"She's brunette," Lanie said, having been looking over the body to see if it could be moved without destroying the environment for CSU to investigate.

"No, her hair is long," Castle said simply. "The first vic had pretty long hair too."

"That's a little weak," Ryan said.

"What about what you mentioned yesterday? When we were still at the Precinct?" Beckett asked Castle.

"Oh, that's right, I just mentioned what if he'd lived near the vic, a floor up or down, or on the same one," he said quickly.

"Would explain how he got the trees in there, and all this here too," Ryan said. "Let me talk to Espo."

"Same cause of death?" Beckett asked Lanie.

"A garrote, and very little struggle either, so he drugged her, and likely knocked her completely out with chloroform too," she replied.

"You know, he could just knock them out with the chloroform," Castle said. "If he gave them enough they'd stay out right?"

"Right, but the date rape drug leaves you pretty weak," Lanie said.

Beckett was looking at the flowers on the top of the vic's head, a kind of crown of red poppies, and she shook her head saying, "This is so familiar."

"Again?" Castle asked as he and Lanie looked at her.

"There's something about these," Beckett said. "I'm wondering if this has to do with the flowers being a message."

Remembering what they'd been talking about earlier in the morning, Castle said, "Flowers have a meaning right?"

"They do, but if it's going to be that, then we need to find out what the first flowers are," Beckett said. "Though… I used to have a book on the meanings of flowers, and red poppies meant sacrifice."

"Right, they're the symbol of Veteran's Day, or Remembrance Day in the UK to honor those who died in wars," Castle said. "That doesn't make much sense though. Unless she was in the military."

"She wasn't," Esposito said from the doorway. When the two came out into the bedroom he said, "If you're talking about flowers, the ones on our first vic are in fact wildflowers, the… Creeping Dogwood according to an expert I spoke with this morning before we heard about our second vic. It's found here in the state, and can be pretty easily found, so I don't think our killer picked it up at a nursery."

"Does that have any kind of meaning?" Castle asked Beckett.

"Not that I know of," she replied. "And it doesn't really matter, because I think it's more how the vics are posed, what they're wearing, the environment he's leaving them in that matters more."

"Why bring that up?" Esposito asked.

"Julia was asking me about the flowers she got before I had to leave," Beckett said as they got out of the way of the ME workers who had gotten the body off the perch the killer had left her on. "Did you talk to the mom about anyone in her daughter's life that might want to do this?" she then asked.

"Not really, she's pretty distraught," Esposito answered. "I had LT escort her to the station, talk to her there."

Looking at the vic being placed in a body bag and seeing the _Om_ in henna and _mamounia_ in blood on the body, Beckett turned to him and was about to speak when a member from CSU walked up to them with a book. "Where was this?" she asked.

"Under the bed," the man replied.

Opening it, Beckett nodded when she saw the sketches were like the previous one, and then looked up to speak when Castle beat her to it.

"Was there a shrine here too?" he asked.

"Yeah, this way," Esposito said, going into the small office off the bedroom.

"Why here?" Castle asked.

"She didn't have a closet like the last vic," Beckett replied.

"No, it's the light, he stayed until dawn to finish the painting in the bathroom, and brought it here because of the closet like you said," Castle said as they looked at the six foot tall painting. "Is the paint of her face still wet?"

"Slightly," Esposito said.

"This is going back to the station?" Beckett said, turning away from the scene of the vic sitting on a cliff above a body of water, looking back over her shoulder with a slightly seductive look on her face. The actual scene was nothing like the painting, the vic's eyes shut and looking as if she were sleeping while her neck had a ring of blood around it disgusting her in the fact that the woman had likely been used for nothing more than her face to finish the painting.

"Yeah, we're going to do a canvas, or I am," Ryan said, having joined them while Beckett was still looking at the painting. "And Esposito's talking to the mother."

"We'll talk to the mother," Beckett said quickly as she left the room to get out of the apartment. "I think she'd appreciate talking to someone who would sympathize with her situation."

* * *

Handing the mother of their second victim a glass of water, Castle sat down next to Beckett on the couch, both of them watching as the woman took a sip with shaking hands. He glanced at his fiancée, wondering what she was thinking as he knew Julia had to be on her mind at that moment.

"Mrs. Kelly, I'm wondering if you can tell me a little about Francis' morning routine when you call her," Beckett said.

"She gets up at six, and she likes… liked," the woman said before a few tears fell down her cheeks and her voice ended on a choked sob. "I'm sorry," she said, drying her cheeks with a tissue.

"It's alright, take all the time you need," Beckett replied gently.

"She would, do yoga for twenty minutes, take a shower and then eat breakfast. By then it was usually seven thirty and I would call her," Mrs. Kelly said. "She always answered."

"When was the last time you talked to your daughter?" Castle asked.

"The afternoon of yesterday," Mrs. Kelly replied. "She had finished her last class on Monday, and she was going to a bar with some friends. I think she said Delaney's Pub. And that's all I know of her plans yesterday."

Nodding; since Lanie had finally been able to determine when the vic had been killed after they'd gotten her out of the bathroom and she had put the time of death between eight and ten the night before; Beckett then asked, "Do you know who she went with exactly?"

"Violet Callahan… Steve Boon… and I think Sydney Lake," Mrs. Kelly said, trying to remember.

"Would any of them want to hurt your daughter?" Castle said.

"Oh no, they've been friends since middle school," Mrs. Kelly said. "They don't go to school like Francis is, but they stay in touch."

"Do you know of anyone who was lately bothering your daughter, harassing her?" Beckett asked.

"I… yes," Mrs. Kelly started to say before she realized something. "There's a man in her Saturday yoga class. It's at the Chrysanthemum Fields Studio, at ten in the morning. He was a man who would always go next to her, even when she tried to take Violet and Sydney with her to flank her. She told me he actually got Violet to move by working his way in. Francis always described him as oily, and she rushed out before he could possibly assault her physically." Her eyes went wide as she then asked, "Was she…"

"Did your daughter ever give a name," Beckett said instead of answering the question she knew the woman couldn't ask. They still needed to wait for Lanie to do the autopsy, but she was already expecting similar evidence of an assault on their second vic.

"No, she never talked about him much, it was only from Violet and Sydney that I'd heard about it," Mrs. Kelly said. "I tried to ask Francis about it, but she only spoke with me about it that one time. I should have said more, pressured her to go to a different yoga class."

Beckett was quiet as the woman sobbed for a moment and dabbed at her eyes again. She looked down at her paper she'd written the woman's answers on, and finally looked up saying, "Was there anyone else? An ex-boyfriend?"

"No, no, Francis was a shy girl, she didn't want to date yet," Mrs. Kelly said. "And I don't know anyone else who was like that man, who scared her so much she couldn't tell me, her mother about it." She looked at Beckett and asked, "Do you have a daughter?"

Not surprised at that; since she had a feeling the woman had recognized her from the coverage about hers and Julia's abduction; Beckett nodded and said, "She's five."

"Then you know she would talk to you unless it scared her horribly," Mrs. Kelly said.

Castle held back; the urge to nod with Beckett in agreement great as he was thinking of Julia's classmate who'd taunted her back in the beginning of the school year. He then turned his attention back to the woman as she started to speak again.

"That's what happened, and he hurt my daughter, I know he did," Mrs. Kelly said, anger distorting her voice as she clutched at her tissue tightly in her hand.

* * *

"If you remember anything else," Beckett was saying as she walked Mrs. Kelly to the elevator after concluding the interview. "Then please call one of these numbers. They'll put you in touch with the lead detectives on this case."

"You're not a detective anymore?" Mrs. Kelly asked, seeing Castle, Ryan and Esposito standing behind Beckett.

"I'm only consulting on this case," Beckett said. She hesitated for a moment before continuing with, "My daughter had her tonsils taken out and I'm trying to stay home with her."

"You should," Mrs. Kelly said. "She's not going to be a little girl forever. When she's gone you're going to regret it; I am. I just wish it had been me instead."

Beckett heard a sharp intake of breath behind her, but didn't react, knowing that it was Castle. She barely remembered saying goodbye to the vic's mother, only the sound of her heels taking a fast pace toward the break room standing out to her.

"Maybe you should…" Esposito started to say as they watched her go. "Talk to her bro," he finished as Castle walked after Beckett. "Lanie would be happy to see that."

Shrugging Ryan said, "They're friends, I'm just going along with it because Lanie scares me sometimes. I'm going to look into that yoga class they found out about."

Glancing to the break room, Esposito couldn't see the two through the window, and he turned, going to his own desk to start searching for another possible connection their two vics had that the families and friends of the two women might not have known about.

"Okay?" Castle asked once he'd entered the room and found Beckett at the table.

"Yeah, just… difficult to hear that because, you know," she replied, putting her phone into her pocket since she'd been staring at it, debating if she wanted to call Julia.

Nodding; since he knew she was thinking about the struggle she'd been having more and more between her career and her daughter; Castle then said, "You don't really take her for granted."

"I know, I make sure I don't. But I agree with her," Beckett said.

"So do I, and that's for both Alexis and Julia," Castle said. "But you…"

"There's no way you can reassure me I'm not going to end up getting killed," Beckett said as he didn't continue. She smiled, but without much humor as she stood and walked back and forth behind her seat saying, "I've put myself into a bad position, I knew this was going to happen but told myself I could balance it since she's at school."

"She's just sick," Castle said.

"I know, but I can't even say no to this case and go home to her," Beckett replied. "We need to stop," she said.

"Yeah, when we talked about investigating this like in San Francisco, I really thought I would push you to make sure we did but, no luck," Castle said. "But can we go home now?"

"Not really," Beckett said with a slight groan of frustration. "But I'm calling her, and telling her that we love her, and we'll be home as soon as I talk to this yoga class guy if he's found."

"Ryan's trying to find out about him right now," Castle said quickly as Beckett called his mother's number.

"Martha? Hi, no, not yet, but we'll be coming back if a possible suspect is brought in," Beckett replied. "I'd like to speak to him myself." She then smiled and said, "Hey sweetie," and then switched to speakerphone as Castle walked over to her after closing the open door.

"Hi Mommy," Julia whispered on the other end. "Is Castle there?"

"Here sweetheart, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"Okay, we ate lunch, it was good, Martha let me have a pudding," Julia said. "And the whipped cream."

"You're getting spoiled," Beckett said jokingly. "We wanted to see how you were doing, and to let you know we just need to find someone and talk to them before coming home okay?"

"Kay, come before dinner please?" Julia said, ending on a question.

"Definitely," Castle assured her.

"We need to go, we love you Julia, bye," Beckett said. When their daughter and then Castle said their goodbyes, she hung up and said, "I wanted to get her another bouquet."

"I was thinking the same, because you know, flowers won't really spoil her like toys will," Castle said. "Do you want me to stop or…"

"We'll see how things work out," Beckett said simply before looking past his shoulder and waving someone in.

"Everything okay?" Ryan asked as he stepped inside.

"Yes, I just needed to talk to Julia, why he needed to eavesdrop on my conversation with my daughter I don't know," Beckett said, rolling her eyes as she indicated her fiancé. "What do you have?"

"We didn't get the chance to tell you before you talked with Mrs. Kelly, but we spoke to the landlord of both buildings, there was one person that moved out the morning our first vic was discovered, about two floors down from her," Ryan said. "I asked about security cameras, and he said they don't have any in the halls, but elevators yes."

"Stairs; and what about the name?" Castle asked.

"Unfortunately no," Ryan said, only answering about the stairs. "He's sending us footage, but if the killer knew the stairs weren't covered he might have used those."

"With that many trees though it'd take him some time… so he obviously waited until he had that time. He stalked them to learn their schedules," Beckett said. "And the building today's vic was found in?"

"Someone moved out today, at about seven the front desk received the man's key before he left," Ryan replied. "He lived one floor up from our vic."

"Ryan, what was the name?" Beckett said, slightly irritated he hadn't said first off.  
"Yeah, the names, are Louis Janco and Michel Petkov," Ryan replied, not surprised the two reacted to him saying the plural. "Checked them both and they're fake."

"Do they remember what these two men look like? If they are two different men." Castle asked.

"Officer White is with them, waiting for them to finish with the sketch artists," Ryan said simply. "And as for this yoga harasser, his name is Tico Norton."

"Tico?" Castle asked.

"And you're going to get him…?" Beckett asked.

"Esposito's going with some back up," Ryan said. "I had to speak with the second landlord when he got the address for me. Who's taking the int-"

"I will," Beckett said simply, cutting him off. "Anything from the psychologist yet?"

"Excuse me?" a man said at the door to the break room.

"You're Dr. Franks?" Ryan asked. When the man nodded he said, "I'm Detective Ryan, we spoke yesterday."

"I remember, I have a profile set on your killer, though I could have just told you over the phone," the doctor said.

"Doctor," Beckett said. "I'm Detective Beckett, and there's something you need to see before you tell us anything." She led the man to the conference room where the two paintings were, leaning against the back wall side by side.

"Right," Dr. Franks said, hesitating a little as he saw. "Well, I don't think that will affect my profile except lead me to add something else to it. Should we sit?"

Though he didn't really want to stay in the same room as the paintings, Castle joined Beckett on one side of the table as Ryan sat at the head and the doctor sat across from them. "Is this a sexual crime?" he asked.

"I would say not exactly," the doctor replied. "The posing of the body means it's much more, and according to your ME she wasn't fully raped. An attempt was made." At their nods he said, "That leads me to conclude that he's successful with women, it's not a question of him being a loner."

Glancing at Castle; since they'd guessed the attempted rape meant the man was unlucky with women; Beckett turned back to Dr. Franks and asked, "Then is there a reason for the writing on her body that doesn't deal with sex?"

"There are some people who practice goddess worship," Dr. Franks said. "If you've read _The DaVinci Code_ there's some explanation of that. Now the writing of _mamounia_ over her heart would lead me to believe that this was a matter of a relationship gone bad or possibly obsession from afar; the killer considers her heart his safe haven. But with it written directly above her womb, that brings me to believe it's both obsession from afar, and worship. He sees her womb as sacred, and it also would be a reason why he tried to rape her. Sex with a woman is a way of worshiping the goddess or the sacred feminine I think is the proper name, but the fact that she was dead as he was doing it makes him more than a little psychotic."

"And the _Om_ symbol?" Castle asked as he knew his fiancée was trying to control her disgust hearing that.

"That was placed before her death, which leads me to believe that it was a way for him to get rid of any possible guilt he might feel with what he's doing," Dr. Franks answered. "And to bring her peace, though he was killing her."

"What about the sketches? And these of the second vic?" Ryan asked, showing the doctor copies of what they'd found in the second vic's apartment.

"He was preparing himself I would say, to make himself want her more, to go through with it," Dr. Franks said.

"Is it possible he might have stalked them?" Beckett asked.

"I don't think he would have done that, but he would have been in contact with her, them, excuse me. Prior to actually killing them he might have spoken with them a few times, maybe in the elevator, to lull them into thinking he's just a normal guy, maybe one they would want to date. He didn't exactly need to stalk them because he was near enough so it wouldn't look like he was," Dr. Franks said.

"Is that possibly how he got into their apartments?" Beckett then said. "There was never any sign of a break in at either one."

"Very likely," Dr. Franks said.

When the doctor didn't say anything for a while Castle asked, "And the paintings?"

"That's where my earlier profile might fall apart, but I don't know exactly," the doctor said. "With these paintings, they're meticulous, the detail is amazing. He killed them and everything I told you about what led up to the murder up until the point he posed them applies to him. But posing them and painting them… that's a little harder to figure out because it's the posing itself I cannot explain. Working on paintings this detailed… I would refer back to the obsession from a distance. But there's a problem with that."

"The fact he didn't keep the painting," Castle suggested.

"Exactly, but, for all you know, he could have taken pictures or made a sketch to redo the paintings for himself," Dr. Franks said. "And if that's the case, I would prepare yourself for a third victim."

* * *

"Okay?" Castle asked, walking up to Beckett who was sitting on the edge of her desk, looking at the murder board.

"Thanks, yeah, just, a little sick hearing all of that," Beckett said as he handed her some tea. "A little surprised though that he doesn't think they turned him down. But given the fact they were posed peacefully; in his words…"

"It was more to possess them, not a reaction to a rejection," Castle said. "Which makes it really creepy."

"Very," Beckett said before she heard yelling from the elevator. She stood as Castle did and they looked over as Esposito walked out with some officers, a tall man with long hair struggling against them. "That would be Mr. Norton," she said, walking over to interrogation as Esposito went inside with the suspect.

"Are you sure you want to talk to him alone?" Castle asked, following her.

"I am, you'll likely piss him off which I don't need," Beckett said simply. "Well?" she asked as Esposito came out.

"He's very defensive," he said. "But he was trying to hit on Officer Hastings when he saw her. You want me in-"

Beckett shook her head before he could finish, and she stepped inside the room, looking up to see that the man was leaning against the wall on the other end. The way he looked her over, she tensed her body slightly, and said, "Mr. Tico Norton, you really shouldn't give the police a hard time when all we wanted to do was ask you some questions."

"Yeah, don't like guys trying to hassle me. Should have just sent that blonde cop to-" Norton began.

"Where were you between five and seven two days ago?" Beckett cut him off with.

"I… was in my place, having dinner with a… friend," Norton said, a little taken aback by the question.

"Was this your friend?" Beckett asked. She resisted the urge to step away when the man started to walk to her, and she slammed the picture of the first vic on the table to get him away from her.

Watching from observation with Ryan and Esposito, Castle clenched his hands into fists as Beckett moved the picture onto the table, wondering why she wasn't trying to get the man to sit down.

"Nah, no idea who she is," Norton said inside the room.

"Okay, have a seat then," Beckett said, walking to the chair on the other side. "Sit Mr. Norton."

"I'll stand," the man said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Fine, then what about her," Beckett said, showing him the picture of the second vic.

"Yeah, I know her, tried to ask her out, but the bitch always got squirrelly on me and never would hear me out," Norton said. "Which is her loss, you talk to my friend from the other night, Monique Parker; she'll tell you it was perfect."

Beckett fought the urge to be queasy at the man's arrogant tone and set down her folder saying, "Ms. Kelly is dead."

"Dead?" Norton said, looking shocked then. When Beckett slid a picture of her in the body bag he laughed and said, "No, no, why would I kill her when I wanted her?"

"You had her," Beckett said. "Or you attempted to, and you couldn't really complete what you set out to do all those times you hit on her at the yoga studio."

"Kate," Castle whispered in warning in observation as he heard her tone of voice getting more and more heated.

"Is that why you knocked her out? To make sure she couldn't scream when you raped her?" Beckett said, pointing down at the picture. "What does _mamounia_ mean to you?"

"Nothing, I've never heard that word before," Norton said, shaking his head.

"What about _Om_ , you put that on her before you assaulted her," Beckett said, a part of her telling herself she needed to stop before she went too far, but there was too much behind her anger. "Did you want to make her enjoy it? You were planning to kill her before you even started. Did you worship her? Want to keep her all to yourself? Did you think you could take her without her wanting it, and think she would do nothing but lay there? Is that what you wanted? To be little more than a coward and beat her into submission with nothing more than drugs?"

"You're out of your mind lady," Norton snarled as by then Beckett had stepped right up to him. "I wanted her, but I wanted her alive to do it, make her beg me for more. But what you said… the same happened to you didn't it?" he then said with a smirk. He saw Beckett's rapid blinking of her eyes and his smirk turned into a leer. "Never thought about taking a woman by force. But for you, I'd make an exception."

"You-" Beckett started to say before he spoke again.

"You'd beg me, just like she would have if she wasn't dead," Norton said. "Because I need to hear it, and I can hear you already in my head, begging like a whore-"

Without thinking, Beckett slapped Norton as hard as she could, having to try and quickly react when he slapped her back roughly before pushing her up against the wall as he started to press his body against hers. Before she could try to get out of his grip in her panic, the door opened and Castle was pulling the suspect off his fiancée by his throat, throwing him into Esposito and LT before he had the chance to strangle him or pound his fist into Norton's face.

"Get him into holding, doesn't matter if you killed those women or not Norton, you're going to the tombs now," Esposito yelled as he let LT take the man. "Beckett," he said.

Pushing past Castle who was trying to ask her if she was alright, Beckett almost ran out of interrogation and to the locker room, sitting on a bench as she tried to control herself. It took a little time, but she was finally able to stand without needing to throw up, but she splashed some water on her face to calm down as the incident was too much a reminder of Harris and Queens.

"Kate," Castle said the second she stepped outside, going to her and taking her by the arms.

"Let me go," Beckett said, trying not to sound as if she was angry. He quickly did so and she walked back to her desk, slowing down for a fraction of second as she saw Gates was waiting for her. "Sir, I don't-" she started to say when she was closer.

"Your partners let me know what happened," the Captain said, holding her hand up to stop Beckett from saying anything else. "And Mr. Norton will be charged with assault, and if he tries to press charges on you I'm afraid he's going to find it next to impossible to do so."

Nodding, Beckett said, "I don't think he's the killer, he-"

"I just got a hold of Ms. Parker, she confirmed his alibi," Ryan said. "For the night of the first murder."

"Esposito, go ask him what he was doing the time of the second murder," Gates said. "I think, considering the circumstances," she then said, turning to Beckett. "You've done everything you could to help them today. That means you as well Castle. I think you should go home and take care of your cheek."

"Yes sir," Beckett said, more than ready to get back to Julia. She turned and glanced at Castle when she heard her name being called.

"I'm looking for someone with the last name Beckett?" a man dressed in a delivery man's uniform called, walking from the elevator.

"That's me," Beckett replied. She took the manila envelope the man had her sign for, and then said, "Can I get some gloves please?" dropping it on her desk immediately. She took the pair that Officer Thomas got her, and slipped them on as Castle, Ryan and Gates watched her open it.  
"Why you?" Castle asked.

"I don't know, he… unless he was back at the building, one of them or both," Beckett said.

"And he saw you," Castle said. "I really hope this doesn't mean you're his next target."

Beckett didn't reply to that; as she'd been afraid of that herself, and she took out a sheet of paper that had typewritten words on it.

"Detective?" Gates prompted when Beckett didn't say anything, only read.

"It's a… poem," Beckett said, shaking her head. " _You found them, my masterpieces, but finding the others will take time, seasons will change, hours pass, days go by_ -" she read.

"Is there a clue of any kind?" Gates asked.

"I hope so, he's a horrible poet," Castle commented before Beckett shot him a look. He wasn't too surprised at her irritation in that and quickly looked away from her.

"The writing is in two panels," Beckett said, showing them the piece of paper. "But very thin."

"There's room for more paintings," Castle said quickly. "That's what it's supposed to be symbolizing. But the rest of the so called poems?"

" _Detectives, you can try and to figure me out, but there is one thing I have and which you are running out of. Time_ ," Beckett said, reading the very last two lines as everything else was just about the environments the victims had been found in. "So he thinks I'm lead on this, and it's a taunt aimed at us. That's all there is."

"I just got Norton's alibi for the night of the second murder," Esposito said as Beckett was handing the letter and envelope over to Officer Thomas to get to CSU for examination. "He says he was in his building, they have security cameras in the halls… what?" he asked as he noticed Beckett was taking off her gloves.

"Nothing, we got a letter from our killer," Beckett said quickly, seeing Esposito's gaze go to her cheek for a second before looking away. "Do you need me here anymore?"

"I think we're good," Ryan said, glancing at Gates. "We can look into the second alibi, and there's nothing much we can do but wait for anything from the letter."

"Esposito, look into where it was sent from," Gates said. "Mr. Castle?"

"Yeah, I'm gone," Castle said quickly before he turned to go. "Oh, hey, any leads, someone call me."

Beckett, Esposito and Ryan looked at the Captain, but when she didn't say anything, Beckett quickly said, "Someone will." She waited until he was inside the elevator and said, "Give me a call first if anything comes up at all. And… if you hear from those galleries, call me about that because I'm not believing the killer's never sold anything considering the care he took with the two paintings. He has to be or was an artist." She tried not to look over at the conference room, but still caught a glimpse of the paintings before she looked away hurriedly.

"Got it," Esposito said.

"Say hi to Julia for us," Ryan said as Gates headed back to her office.

Smiling slightly in response, Beckett nodded and then left, feeling her tension in her body with each step she took. But once she was outside the station she breathed a little easier, and then touched her cheek, not surprised to feel the heat from the slap. Shaking her head, she looked at the text her fiancé had sent as he'd left the building himself, and hailed a cab to meet him. She leaned back against the seat as the driver pulled away from the curb, her eyes closed tightly as she tried to keep her thoughts; her memories; at bay just for a moment longer before they could overwhelm her.


	7. Trying To Touch And Reach You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) by George Harrison, from his album Living in the Material World.

Looking through the window at the sky that she could see in between the blinds, Julia arched the plane in her hand across the blue and sighed a little, looking over at the clock on the wall. She had no idea what the time was, only that it had felt like it was an eternity since her mother and Castle had left. She brought the plane down and ran her fingers over the tail before she heard the sound of the door being unlocked. "Is it them?" she whispered to Martha who had been watching her silently.

"I think so darling," she replied, wondering at the change in the little girl. Nearly a half hour before she had become quiet, not wanting to do anything, which she'd thought meant Julia was ready for a nap. But watching her run to the door, she realized she was anything but tired.

"Sweetie," Beckett said as she walked inside first to see her daughter waiting in front of the door. She picked her up and held her close, feeling a little more of the tension leaving her body. Kissing Julia's temple she whispered, "How are you?"

"Kay, are you Mommy?" Julia asked, leaning back to look at her.

"I'm fine," Beckett said, walking into the apartment more to let Castle come inside. "How was she?" she asked his mother.

"Just fine, I thought she was getting tired not too long ago, but I think she missed you…" Martha said, trailing off when Julia leaned out of her mother's arms to hug Castle. "Both."

"Think we should put her to bed for a quick nap?" he asked his fiancée as Julia pressed her cheek to his.

"Probably," Beckett said, looking at her watch. "But a really quick one."

"Then I'll head out," Martha said.

"You don't have to," Beckett said immediately.

"I think I'd like to head home and call Alexis," Martha replied. "Spending time with Julia has made me miss my oldest granddaughter immensely."

"Well, if you have to go, thank you," Beckett told her as she followed her to the door.

"It was a joy to get to see her again," Martha said simply. She opened the door and jumped slightly as there were two men on the other side of it, holding bouquets of flowers. "I think these are for you Julia."

"Only one is," Beckett said, recognizing the one she and Castle had ordered together at the flower shop near her building. "The other?"

Setting Julia down, Castle helped Beckett by taking the flowers for Julia, taking them to the kitchen with her. "Alright, I'll see you later Mother, I'm staying here again tonight, so maybe tomorrow," he said as she had stayed with Julia near the door.

"You have water on your shirt Richard," Martha said, touching the spot it had made from the vase.

"Not a problem, I'll be right out," Castle said before he went to Beckett's room.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Martha told Beckett and Julia. She leaned down and shared a kiss with Julia and said, "Get some sleep darling, you'll feel so much better."

"Thank you," Julia whispered with a smile on her face.

Beckett waved as Martha left, closing the door and turning to her daughter. She opened her mouth to speak when there was a knock on the door and said slightly laughingly, "Did you forget…" as she opened it to find a neighbor there. "Kent?" she asked, wondering if he was going to try and ask her out again.

"Sorry," the man said, smiling slightly. "I was wondering if I could ask a favor and use your phone?"

"I…" Beckett started to say before she trailed off.

"I don't want to bother you, but I lost my phone and I think I left it at the café that I was at, but I wanted to call to make sure," Kent said. "And I don't have a land line yet, or else I wouldn't ask."

Feeling Julia was holding on tightly to the hem of her blouse behind her, Beckett nodded and taking her daughter's hand, led him to the kitchen where the receiver was next to her coffee machine. She took Julia around the counter, wanting to put a little distance between them.

"Hello, I was in there earlier," Kent was saying on the phone after dialing a number.

Peering around her mother, Julia watched the man talk, looking at Beckett out of the corner of his eye every once in a while. She shuddered, and pressed her face to her mother's side so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"Okay, it looks like it's there," Kent said after he'd hung up. "This is your daughter isn't she? She's beautiful."

Beckett was going to answer that when Julia suddenly let go of her and started to run to her bedroom. "Yes, well, I'm sure you want to get your phone-" she began.

"Everything okay?" Castle asked, coming out then. He'd changed his shirt and had been trying to get some of the green stain from the stems off the first one when Julia had run in, and seeing the expression on her face he had dropped everything to follow her out to the living room where he saw the neighbor.

"I'm just leaving," Kent quickly said as he saw that Castle was holding Julia, the little girl pressing her cheek to his tightly.

"Okay?" Castle asked as he went to close and lock the door after the neighbor had left in a rush.

"Why he couldn't use his next door neighbor's phone I don't know," Beckett said, shaking her head. "Are you okay sweetie?" she asked, going to Julia.

"I didn't like him, he was looking at you funny Mommy. Don't let him in again," she whispered.

Looking at each other in surprise, since that was the longest their daughter had spoken since the surgery, Castle said, "Is your throat feeling better."

Nodding once to his question, Julia then looked at her mother and said, "Promise, please?"

"I promise, believe me, I didn't want to let him in now," Beckett said. She shook her head at Castle's concerned expression and said; to change the subject, "Want to see the flowers we got you?"

"Yeah," Julia said shortly. She reached out and touched one of the roses in the bouquet Castle carried her to, and smiled as she saw they were yellow. "Does this mean something like the tulips do?" she asked to Castle and Beckett's surprise.

"You heard us this morning?" Beckett asked. When Julia nodded, she smiled slightly and said, "They do, actually, Castle thought you'd want to know about what flowers mean, so he made sure we picked out ones that meant something about you."

"Am I telling her?" Castle asked when Beckett didn't continue. "You know more."

"You had the site open on your phone at the flower shop," Beckett said.

Julia giggled softly and said, "Just say."

"Okay, so the yellow roses mean get well," Castle said, since he had used some sites to help them pick out the flowers. "And daffodils we put in because they are your birth flower and we know you like them too."

"He picked out the hydrangea because they were blue, and also because in Japan they mean pride," Beckett said.

Smiling shyly Julia whispered, "You're proud of me?"

"Very much," Castle said, watching her touch the blue blooms he'd made sure they could get without insulting their daughter.

"What about this?" Julia asked, touching some tiny white flowers.

"Lily of the Valley," Beckett told her. "Which means sweet."

"You are," Castle said as Julia straightened up from trying to smell the lilies to look at them both. "Very sweet, and these last flowers are a red tulip, which in Japan mean trust."

"You trust me?" Julia asked in slight confusion.

"I'm still not sure about that one, but it makes the bouquet pretty interesting," Beckett commented.

"I think it's beautiful," Julia said. "Can you put me down?" When Castle had set her on the floor she hurried to the coffee table, handing a folded piece of paper to her mother. "It's for you and Castle," she said proudly, though with some slight hesitation at the same time. "I colored it with Martha when you left."

"It's beautiful sweetie," Beckett said as she opened the large sized page. "All the flowers, and the vases too," she was able to tell from the riot of colors.

"Really nice, I love how you made the white and blue the biggest flowers… oh, that's the bouquet I gave you and your mom," Castle said, suddenly recognizing the delphinium as the blue was in a tall line.

Nodding yes, Julia said, "Those were the prettiest, but they are all pretty." She then hugged her mother around the waist saying, "I'm glad you like it."

"I'll have to put this up on the fridge," Beckett said, setting the drawing on the counter next to the other vase of flowers that had been delivered with Julia's. "But I think you could use a little nap," she said as Julia yawned then. "Which we were talking about before." She picked the little girl up and carried her into her room, changing her into her pajamas before Castle came inside.

"Think you'll draw the new flowers you got?" he asked Julia as he went over to kiss her goodnight.

"Yeah, and the others, what about those?" she asked him.

Beckett was a little surprised when Castle whispered to her and Julia smiled widely in response before nodding. She was going to ask what their secret was, when he shared a kiss with her.

"Night sweetheart, get some rest, and remember this'll be a short nap," Castle was saying. He kissed her forehead and let Beckett step forward, watching her closely.

"Like he said sweetie, it'll be a short nap, after we'll start talking about dinner okay?" Beckett said. When Julia nodded she leaned down and shared a kiss with her before stepping back, letting her fall asleep. The second she had, she turned to her fiancé and was startled when he abruptly grabbed her hand, closing the door behind him. "C-" she started to say before he took her out into the living room. When he wrapped her up in a tight embrace, she wasn't too surprised then, having been waiting for him to want to talk about what had happened with Norton. But she was relieved he wanted to hold her instead for the moment, so she hugged him back tightly, pressing her cheek to his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Castle finally murmured.

"Not really," Beckett said, pulling back. "At least, not right this second. Later… later tonight okay?" she asked, hoping he'd see that she wasn't trying to deflect because she didn't want to talk about it, but because she preferred to wait for a better time.

"Okay, but I'm not going to drop this," Castle said.

"I know, I didn't expect you to," Beckett replied, hugging him again. "But there's something we can talk about now, t-"

"It's not the case is it?" Castle interrupted her. "Because I'd like to leave that be for a while."

Smiling briefly at the way he'd worded that, Beckett shook her head and said, "No, this secret that apparently you and Julia have."

"Oh, actually, it's not a secret, just something I needed her opinion about," Castle said, taking her hand again. "This is for you," he said, nodding to the other bouquet.

"I guessed that much, and now I know why you needed to go back into the shop," Beckett commented, touching the tiny blue flowers around the edge of the others. "Any reason why?" When he didn't say anything she then asked, "Maybe because of what happened earlier?"

"I just wanted you to know how I feel about you," Castle said, nodding to the flowers. "I used that Japanese language you told me about."

"You're going to make me remember?" Beckett asked as he again remained silent after finishing speaking. Sighing as he merely leaned against the counter she said, "Thank you for the distraction by the way," as she cupped his cheek. She smiled when he turned his head to kiss her palm and she leaned down, sharing a brief, chaste kiss with him before turning her attention back to the flowers. "Alright, this one was always easier, Jackie Lennox and I always were hoping for a boy to give us these, though probably better no one did; we were a little too young for that," she began.

"Do you want them in your bouquet?" Castle asked, watching her run her fingertips over the blue forget me nots.

"That's okay," Beckett said. "Though they would fit, they mean true love…" She felt her cheeks slightly heat up as she could feel his gaze on her, and she moved to a large white bloom. "Peony means… bravery," she said slowly as she recalled. "Some anemone… sincere? How does that apply to me exactly?"

"It was supposed to be my feelings for you," Castle said. "The woman that helped us with Julia's bouquet said you might not understand that one."

"I do now," Beckett said, squeezing his arm. She then turned to a pale yellow bloom and said, "And yellow camellia, which means…" speaking slowly as she looked into his eyes then.

Standing up straight, Castle wrapped his arm around her as pulled her close as he said, "Longing, and I'm saying that because-" before she kissed him, cutting him off before he could say it was because he wanted to marry her badly. He was a little relieved, because he wasn't sure if she'd want to hear that, but then as he kissed her back, he realized she felt the same way, and in his relief and joy at that, he kissed her deeply before they needed to part to catch their breath. "You know, George Harrison was definitely right," he suddenly said as they pressed their foreheads together, wanting to stay close.

"About what?" Beckett asked, pulling back at look at him in confusion.

"Julia reminded me; when I told her about your flowers; his one lyric about the speech of flowers excelling the flowers of speech," Castle commented.

Shaking her head, Beckett said, "I'm surprised you want to tell her all about it, I really didn't expect you to have a fascination with this."

"Well, do you remember the roses covering the vic in my book?" Castle asked her.

"Yes, were they supposed to have a meaning? You were focused more on the type than the color," Beckett said.

"I toyed with the idea of having the color be of significance," Castle replied. "Because looking around the 'net I saw sites about the meanings of rose colors and flowers and it fascinated me roses; and flowers; had a language. But I decided it would take away from what I had already of the plot. I thought maybe a different book I would bring that into it, but it just never worked."

"It might work now for Nikki Heat," Beckett pointed out.

"Maybe," was all that Castle said. "But you know, I meant everything," he said, gesturing to the flowers with his head.

"I'm aware of that, why else would you make the effort to get that made for me," Beckett said, hugging him again though they were still holding onto one another. "Thank you," she said simply into his ear.

Castle quickly kissed her at that, and pressed a little harder on her back before he realized what he was doing. He loosened his grip slightly as he remembered she might not want him to touch her like that, but when she didn't really react to what he was doing, he guessed she was alright for the moment. It was a surprise, but that soon got lost as he began to focus on their kiss until the sound of her phone ringing suddenly took his attention.

"It's Lanie," Beckett said, breathing a little hard in the sudden way they'd broken apart. "Anything wrong?" she asked when she answered.

"Not with me," Lanie said on the other end. "But you?"

"Espo told you?" Beckett asked.

"Of course, but you're okay?" Lanie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Beckett replied. "I'm home now with Julia, so I'm doing a lot better."

"Where's Castle?" Lanie said.

"What do you mean where's Castle," Beckett said, looking up at him. She pushed his arm as she saw he was trying not to laugh, and told her friend, "He's home for all I know. Is there any other reason you called?"

"Yeah, but first, how's Julia?" Lanie asked.

Realizing her friend was delaying for a reason, Beckett motioned to her fiancé to close the door leading to the bedrooms. "She's alright, she's taking a nap. What is it?" she asked as she switched to speakerphone so Castle could hear, taking his hand and going to the office to put more distance between them and Julia in case she woke up.

"Okay, well, Ryan told me I should call you and tell you the results of the autopsy of the second vic," Lanie said.

"I'm assuming there's something you don't want me to hear," Beckett said, looking at the clock on the top of her screen as Castle looked at his watch. "You took a long time to get the results to me."

"I didn't know if you'd want to hear this, especially after what happened to you today," Lanie said, slightly defensively.

"I'm a big girl Lanie, tell me what you found," Beckett said simply, touching her pendant.

"Well everything was the same as the other vic," Lanie said. "There was a large amount of beer in her, so that's where the date rape drug came in. And a lot of chloroform too, so she was completely knocked out. The difference this time around was the assault."

"He was able to go through with it this time?" Beckett asked, trying not to get sick at the thought.

"No, but the damage to her was a lot worse," Lanie replied.

"So he's getting bolder," Beckett said.

"That and I found a semen sample on the dress that he put her in, on the side against her skin," Lanie said. "Where it is on her body is in the middle of her right thigh."

"So… he masturbated when he couldn't finish," Beckett replied. "How large is the sample?"

"Small, so I would bet he did the same with your first vic, but didn't make the mistake of getting it on her, or he cleaned up after himself," Lanie replied.

"Okay, I'm sure you're running it through the database," Beckett said, pressing her hand gently to Castle's chest as he'd grabbed her arm at what Lanie had said about the assault. "Though I doubt this guy's going to be in the system. Anything else?"

"That was it luckily," Lanie said. "I'm hoping they can find this guy, he's pretty sick." She paused and then asked, "Are you okay?"

"I am, but, I think I'd like to check on Julia right now," Beckett said.

"I understand, I'll call you later if my work load calms down any," Lanie said.

Murmuring a goodbye to her friend, Beckett looked up at Castle and said, "I'm okay, really, I wasn't lying, just… feeling a little sick hearing that."

"Me too, let's check on her," Castle said.

Watching her fiancé as they went to their daughter's room to find her still fast asleep as they'd left her, Beckett became concerned as she could tell that he was clenching his jaw tightly. But she kept quiet until they were back in the living room and the door was closed again. "Are you okay I should ask," she commented as she followed him to her office.

"I… not really," Castle said, trying to get ready to lie but unable to go through with it. "Just got some bad memories."

"I did too, but you know you were able to come in and save him," Beckett commented. She was relieved when his head shot up at that and said, "And me. I say save him, because I was ready to knee him if you hadn't."

"I kind of wish I'd let you," Castle commented. "It would have been awesome to see."

Going over to him after she'd pulled up the murder board, Beckett wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "I'm feeling better you-"

"It's not that, it's this case," Castle said. "The…attempted rapes, it's…"

"Making you imagine me in place of these women," Beckett said simply. "I know, I felt the same but Castle, I'm not really on the case. And though apparently the killer knows who I am, I do have a gun, so I can protect myself."

"Yeah, I'm really glad you're still armed," he commented with a humorless laugh.

"I have Julia to think of," Beckett said. "And I don't want these wedding plans to go nowhere."

Nodding, Castle watched as she got a picture of the second vic up on the board, typing out the information they had on her. He almost jumped when her phone rang since it was so quiet, and he was surprised to see her frown as she looked at the screen.

"Did you find something?" Beckett asked Ryan, setting the phone to speaker.

"We did… it's another vic," Ryan said, sounding apologetic as on the other end, Castle and Beckett shared a look of slight shock between them.

* * *

"Oh dude, she looks pissed," Esposito hissed to his partner as he was the first to see Beckett and Castle enter the abandoned warehouse.

"I would be too, her daughter's sick remember?" Ryan said, glancing at Castle and seeing he looked impassive. But he caught the tension coming off them both in waves and had to wonder what exactly had gone on after his call. "How's Julia?" he asked hesitantly when they were close enough.

"Fine, my dad's watching her," Beckett said, thanking him in her mind for arriving right after she'd hung up with Ryan. She and Castle had woken their daughter up from her nap and said goodbye to her, noticing she was trying to pretend she was fine with them going. She had told Castle as they'd gone to the street outside her building, and they were both feeling incredibly angry that they again failed Julia in staying home with her. "What do you have," she asked, trying to cut out the irritation in her tone.

"We have no clue who she is," Esposito said, leading them into a small room off the entrance. "But we know she's part of the group."

Eyes going wide as he took in the room, Castle said, "A vineyard?"

"Look at our vic," Esposito said, nodding to their right.

Turning around when she saw the dried blood that had dripped down the vic's leg to her foot, Beckett looked at Castle, and felt her consciousness tilt back to normal; having been close to breaking down into a flashback of her fight with Harris as she knew what that blood meant. Taking in a deep breath, she turned and looked at the vic as she stepped closer.

The young woman had long brunette hair with a crown of large white flowers on her locks, and was wearing what looked more like a nightgown; as the other vics had on. But that time there were two plates of red, green and yellow polished rocks that looked handmade at the neckline. She was holding up a bunch of deep purple grapes in her right hand, and her left held a bowl as she leaned back against her elbow. She was looking down at the grapes, but her eyes were shut, the cut around her neck weeping drops of blood down to _mamounia_ which was written in blood on her chest as she sat in the middle of a vineyard of actual grapes that filled the small room from end to end.

"An officer noticed the door open as he was driving back to his station to go off duty…" Ryan said as he, Esposito and Castle moved out of Beckett's way as she strode out of the room. He glanced at the other two when she didn't stop, went straight out the door into the sun.

"Uh, bro, maybe you should… talk with her," Esposito said as he and Ryan looked at Castle.

"Lanie-" he said in response.

"Can't, I have to look at the body," the doctor said, her lips set in a grim line. "Better I look at the vic and see what I can find. You're the only one who can talk to her."

Nodding, since he could tell that time wasn't an attempt to throw him and Beckett together, Castle left the building, seeing that Beckett was across the street, looking out at the Hudson River. "Do you want to talk now?" he asked.

"Not really," she said simply. "But I think I'm going to have to because that… blood," she began before stopping and biting hard at her lower lip.

"Maybe you should sit," Castle said quickly, helping her to a bench that was luckily near them. "Do you need some water?" he asked in concern as she'd grown very pale.

"No, I'm angry actually, why the hell is this not going away? I've gotten past Queens, but this case…" Beckett said, her ire stronger with each word spoken.

"I know, it's hard to forget it with what's going on in this case," Castle said. "But I think we need to just focus on finding the killer before we end up with a fourth… vic…"

Looking at him; though she was relieved to hear in his tone that he was in sympathy with what she was feeling; Beckett asked, "What?"

"Come on," Castle said before she got up and followed him hurriedly back inside the warehouse. Avoiding the room he called Ryan and Esposito over to them saying, "Was there a shrine?" when they were close enough.

"Yeah, next room over," Esposito said. "Paint is actually pretty dry."

"Okay, then I get the feeling he killed her right after our second vic," Castle said.

"That would mean she doesn't have anyone who would miss her," Beckett said suddenly. She nodded when her fiancé glanced at her; since she had taken his advice on focusing on wrapping up the case so they could put their memories of Queens behind them; and said, "You might want to check out homeless shelters, nearby, they might know who she is."

"Can we see the painting?" Castle asked. He and Beckett followed their partners and as they did, he squeezed her arm as a wordless show of his relief that she had recovered enough. They came to the doorway of the room next door to the crime scene, and like the others, there was a six foot tall painting. That one had their vic smiling at the grapes she held in her hand, her body relaxed as it leaned back and not the rigid skin that their vic had by then. "Okay, a sketchbook?" he asked.

"Yeah, CSU has it," Ryan said. "It was underneath the platform the vic was on, same thing, except they all look like they were done at the same time, and there's a lot more detail than the other two."

"Then… if she was homeless he could have paid her-" Castle began.

"And he sketched her until he was ready to kill her," Beckett continued for him. "After the first two vics, but there's more to it than that."

"Were there any letters here?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, to the three of us," Esposito said. "Saying we're running out of time, that kind of thing; didn't get a chance to read it all," he said as he was handing the letter in an evidence bag to Beckett.

"Any mention of… yes, okay," Castle said, reading over his fiancée's shoulder. "Guys, there was something about each environment that really seemed specific, and I couldn't figure it out. It was when we got that letter earlier that I had my suspicions, and this seals it. He's painting them as the seasons."

Turning to the painting suddenly, Beckett said, "He's right, grapes are harvested in the fall, the second vic was found in water, summer, and the first vic had newly bloomed leaves and flowers in her room, spring."

"And the four spaces means… he's getting ready for winter," Ryan said.

"Let me see the letter," Beckett said, taking it from him. She scanned the lines, that time not a poor attempt at poetry, but instead a rambling, disjointed explanation about each woman and their place as his masterpiece. " _I haven't found her yet, but winter will be my greatest work Detectives_ ," she said suddenly. " _She will be proud, she will be warm, she will be my piece de resistance and she will complete my set. My four_ … wives, did you see this?" she stopped abruptly on the word wives.

"Damn it, why didn't I see that before? Especially since the doctor was talking about goddess worship, what he's trying to do with them is the _Hieros gamos_ ," Castle said, looking at the letter and seeing that line was there. "Listen, _my four wives, my goddesses, to remain untouched by no one but me, their spiritual, mortal soul mate_ …"

"What the hell is the _Hieros gamos_?" Esposito asked after they had been quiet for a while, looking equally sickened at that last line that Castle trailed off on.

"It's basically the marriage between a god and goddess," he began in reply. He breathed in deeply before he continued with, "Represented by humans. It was mentioned in _The DaVinci Code_."

"You think this son of a bitch is doing this because of a book?" Esposito asked.

"It's an old ritual," Beckett said. When the men looked at her she said, "I learned about it in my comparative religions class. Which I'm guessing is a possible way the killer learned about it."

"So where do we go with that information?" Ryan asked.

"First you need to find out who the vic is," Beckett said. "And also we need to find out what paintings these are being based on."

"They're real paintings?" Esposito asked.

"They have to be," Castle said. "That type of detail doesn't come from the mind of an insane man. It comes from a master that he's trying to emulate, but the problem is there's no clue to the period of art that they're drawing this from."

"He's right," Beckett said. "That's why we weren't able to get anything from the first painting. But did you ever talk to anyone from the Met?"

"Not yet. We did get a call from the rest of the gallery owners, but no one recognizes the killer's handiwork," Ryan answered. "And they never said the paintings we showed them looked like anyone else's work."

"Okay, then he's covering his tracks there," Beckett said with a slight nod as they stepped out of the way for some officers to take the painting out of the room. "Because he's dragging us along; that's another part of the reason why he's doing this-"

"Wants to taunt us and make us second guess ourselves while he commits the fourth murder," Castle said. "But you think he would really stop with the fourth one?"

"I don't know," Beckett said, repressing a shudder as she thought of more women being assaulted.

"Better make sure he stops before that," Esposito said, sharing a concerned glance with Ryan. "We'll look around some shelters around here; Lanie's going to do a fingerprint search once she gets the body to the morgue. You can go home to Julia if you want."

"No," Beckett said shortly. "I want to finish this before it happens again and I don't want to leave her with someone again."

"Right, then we'll have LT give you a lift to the station," Ryan said.

"We'll look into what paintings the killer got his inspiration from," Beckett said as they left the room. "Castle, do you want to go back, or-" she said in a low voice as they were alone.

"No, she'd get upset I think with me leaving you alone," Castle said. "Especially this early in the day."

Nodding her head once in agreement with that, Beckett followed him to LT's squad car where the officer was waiting for them across the street from the water, her eyes going to the vic being placed in the back of the morgue's van.

* * *

"I'm getting weird results for searching four seasons," Castle said.

"Are you including the word paintings?" Beckett asked, looking from her computer at him.

"I am," Castle said, scrolling up on the screen of his phone and shaking his head. "Any luck?"

"No, I'm getting the same as you," Beckett said. She leaned back in her chair and said, "Have you felt any sense of déjà vu yourself with these paintings?"

"To a degree," Castle said hesitantly.

"What does that mean?" Beckett asked.

"That there's some place in the back of my mind that knows what he's painting, it's just I can't remember it," Castle said.

"It's pretty frustrating," Beckett said, looking over at the elevators, hoping to see Ryan and Esposito.

"Beckett," Gates said, walking over to them then. "I just saw you from my office, why exactly are you here?"

"We're still assisting Esposito and Ryan, sir," Beckett explained. "I'm not sure if they informed you, but there was a letter at the crime scene, there's a threat that there will be a fourth vic."

"I was told," Gates said simply. "And you're spending your time looking at paintings Mr. Castle?"

"Um, we're trying to figure out what paintings the killer's basing his paintings of the vics on," he quickly explained. "They're supposed to be the seasons, and the fourth vic is going to be winter so… we're just trying to find out where he's getting the inspiration."

"In the hopes of getting a clue to who he is sir," Beckett quickly took over for him. "If he's that appreciative of the paintings, then he'll have been wherever they are if they're in a museum."

"Have you contacted the Met?" Gates then asked.

"Ryan and Esposito did, but no one could really place the paintings to a specific time," Beckett replied.

"The paint and brushstrokes didn't really fit anywhere," Castle continued.

"Sir, we have an ID on our third vic," Ryan said, walking over to them from the elevator. "She was Susan Allen, and she was a homeless woman, about thirty two years old."

"So his victims are around their late twenties and early thirties," Gates said, taking the file that Ryan held out to her. "How did you ID her?"

"Esposito found a homeless shelter about four miles from where her body was discovered that she had been at the night before she was murdered," Ryan explained. "And there was a man who was there when he was talking to the workers that told him he had seen the killer."

"Is he bringing this man in?" Gates asked.

"He is, he should be here by now," Ryan said.

"What about security cameras?" Beckett said.

"Esposito asked and they're sending in footage from when our witness said the killer was last there," Ryan answered.

"But he's not going to look the same as either man from the last two murders," Castle said simply.

Looking over at the murder board, Beckett knew he was right; the two sketches they had from eyewitnesses and also security camera footage showed two completely different looking men. She was about to say something when Gates did first.

"Beckett, can I see you in my office?" she asked. She led the way inside and once Beckett had closed the door she said, "I was informed by your partners about the crime scene, and the likelihood that your victim was raped due to visual evidence."

"Yes, Dr. Parrish needs to perform-" Beckett started to say slowly, her stomach clenching as she realized what the captain wanted to discuss with her.

"They also told me about your reaction to the evidence there was of that," Gates said simply. "I know that you have worked through what you went through during your time in Harris' home in Queens, but I need to ask, is this going to become a problem? A relapse?"

"No sir, I… might have a nightmare tonight, but other than that, I am focused on finding this killer so I can go home to my daughter," Beckett said seriously.

Studying her, Gates finally nodded and said, "I've informed Ryan and Esposito that if there's any sign of you having any kind of psychological trauma investigating, they're to inform me and you will be taken off the case." She held up her hand as Beckett opened her mouth to speak and said, "I can't have you make a mistake in this, if the letter the killer left at the crime scene is any indication, we have a fourth victim somewhere out there in the city."

"And he needs to be found, I understand," Beckett said quickly. "And I was going to agree with what you said sir, I can't risk another woman being killed for no other reason than my being unable to put aside my past. Is there anything else?"

Gates again studied Beckett, hearing the slight stress on the words my past, but she couldn't see anything that indicated that the detective was getting in over her head emotionally. She nodded slightly and watched through the windows as the woman went back to her desk, talking to Ryan first.

"Can this guy be trusted?" Beckett was asking.

"The employee of the homeless shelter vouched for him. Said he'd been sober since the vic had gone missing," Ryan said. "Which was three days ago…"

"He held her hostage until he killed her," Castle said. "Maybe that's why he picked her."

"It doesn't make much sense though," Ryan commented. "Why wouldn't they all be from homeless shelters if it gave him more time?"

"Especially to pose them, he's right," Beckett said. "But there's a reason for each of these women, maybe… maybe he came into contact with this vic because of community service."

"He's not a loner Dr. Franks said," Castle commented, standing up as Beckett had spoken. "So he's not going to be a reclusive eccentric, he'll be normal, you wouldn't suspect him. And because he's normal, it's likely he had… a DUI charge or something and needed to perform that community service at the homeless shelter she was at, that's where he chose her."

"There's a problem though, with this whole case," Beckett said after they were silent to take that in. "We have two different men, possibly three different men, but the letter specifically stated it was one man who's making these four women his wives."

"I would say he changed his appearance, obviously," Castle said, touching the two sketches. "But even their facial structure is different."

"Guys, this is Eddie Quinn," Esposito said coming from the elevator with a man next to him. "Our witness."

"You're not interviewing him?" Castle asked.

"I think I'll leave it to them, it's their case," Beckett said as they watched Esposito lead the man with him to the back room as Ryan followed.

Castle waited for her to leave him for the break room before he went after her, wanting to close the door to give them more privacy, but leaving it alone as he asked her, "What did Gates say?"

"I need to be careful," Beckett said. She shook her head quickly when he looked startled saying, "She didn't say that exactly, I'm saying that I have told myself to be after she said if I snap from the memories of Queens I'm going to be taken off the case."

"I'd ask if you want to talk again, but I'm assuming you still want to wait for tonight?" Castle said.

"I do, but, since we're at an impasse until we hear what our witness has to say, I'd like to give my dad a call," Beckett said. She dialed his number, and put the phone to her ear saying, "Hey Dad, yeah, I'm fine, no, not yet, but we're hoping to soon," looking for anyone close in case she needed to lower her voice.

Castle stepped a little closer when she said, "Please put her on," saying, "She okay?"

"We'll see," Beckett said simply in response as she pressed a button and their daughter appeared on the screen. "Hey sweetie," she said simply, not sure what else she could say as she didn't want to say they weren't on their way home yet.

"Hi Mommy," Julia whispered. "And you Castle," she continued with a smile as she could see him at the top of the screen. "Are you kay Mommy?"

"Yes," Beckett said, a little too quickly. She shared a glance with her fiancé and shook her head at his gaze. "I just missed you already-"

"We both did," Castle interjected.

"Right, we did, and wanted to see you really quickly before we go back to work," Beckett said. "Are you doing anything with your grandpapa?"

"Coloring and listening to my records," Julia said simply. "Go back to work Mommy, Castle."

"We will," Beckett said, knowing she wanted them to be able to come back. "And I'll call before I come back home," she said quickly as Ryan was walking up to them. "Bye sweetie, love you. Well?" she asked, directing the question to the detective.

"Yeah, he couldn't remember much about the guy," the detective replied. "I'm going to see the security footage, since he was luckily specific about the last time the killer was there."

"And," Esposito said, coming in then. "He said our third vic would go with this guy sometimes, he was apparently an artist, would pay her to let him draw her naked."

"Did they have sex?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, he said they slept together too," Esposito said. "And she confessed to him before they did. Also told him this artist was rough and… he was rough."

"What is it?" Beckett said in a slightly stern tone.

Sighing, Esposito said, "He apparently liked to play out rape fantasies. And not just playing, he would jump her as soon as they got to his place and have sex with her. Quinn was unsure if it was actual rape or not."

"That would explain why this vic was actually raped," Beckett said slowly. "Okay, so was he the last person to see her?" she asked as they walked out to the murder board; Ryan already gone to go through the footage.

"Yeah, she got a message at the shelter that the killer was sending a cab, that was about… three the afternoon of our first murder," Esposito said.

"Was she nervous or scared?" Castle said.

"No, she just said it was another job," Esposito shrugged. "And some money they could use to score some meth."

"Guys," Ryan said then, coming out of the room as he took something from an officer. "Thanks Hastings. Okay, here's our killer," he said, putting the picture the officer had given him on the murder board.

"It's another guy," Beckett said as the four of them looked at their three suspects, each one different in their looks, each a completely different man.


	8. Know What You Are Doing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Bring on the Lucie (Freeda Peeple) by John Lennon, from his album Mind Games.

Leaning back against the desk behind him, Castle watched Beckett inside the conference room, walking back and forth in front of the three paintings, stopping in front of the last. He could feel her frustration even from there, and he straightened up to walk over to her to see if he could tear her away so they could go home. But just as he reached the doorway, he heard Esposito calling to him.

"Dr. Franks is here," he said with the doctor trailing behind him as Beckett came up to the doorway.

"We'll speak to him," she said, nodding as the detective was looking at the records of those who had served community service at the homeless shelter the third vic had been at while Ryan was trying to find the cab that had picked up their third vic the day she'd been murdered. "Doctor, thank you for coming in again," she said, motioning for him to enter the room. "We found a third vic as you can see," she continued when he paused as he faced the paintings. "And we also received another letter from him. It's that we wanted you to look at."

Taking the copy of the letter, the man read it over as Beckett and Castle watched him. "Okay, this puts things into better perspective," he said, looking up at them. "Obviously he's suffering from a kind of narcissistic complex," he began. "He sees himself as a god who is making these women his wife and also his goddess. He wants the power and to know they're indebted to him."

"So these murders are for power," Castle stated.

"Your killer is a little more complex than that," Dr. Franks said. "You might want to divide the different reasons for the murder. There's his fascination with the paintings that should be taken into account first. There was some kind of traumatic experience he had around the time he first saw them. Maybe his mother was killed as they were leaving the museum they were housed in and he witnessed it. Or what I think is more likely, something with a past lover or girlfriend dealing with said paintings."

"The last victim told a witness about him, and that he was an artist that would sketch her," Beckett commented. "What if he painted this lover or girlfriend in a pose similar to one of these paintings… or as each of the women in the original ones, before she left him?"

"It's possible, and while I said it might not be revenge, with this letter, I would have to amend that," the doctor said. "But it's one of many reasons that have come together in his mind."

"There's a problem though," Castle commented suddenly.

When her fiancé glanced at her, Beckett took the copies of the sketches and the security camera footage, laying them down on the table next to the copy of the letter. "Our killers," she said simply.

His eyes widening slightly, Dr. Franks sighed and said, "I would say it was the same man, but they're all very different in appearance of course. What this might be is a cabal, and they're trying to throw you off with the letter referring to one man. If these men are all exhibiting the same motives and psychosis, then I would look into asylums for this kind of behavior, they might have met there before being released."

"There's something else," Castle said. "Have you heard of the _Hieros gamos_?"

"That's what's occurring here Detective," Dr. Franks said as he looked at Beckett. "It's the power part of his motive, he's going through a spiritual marriage with these women, but since they're dead when it's happening…"

"He's not letting them consent to it," Beckett said.

"Or turn him down for that matter," Castle added. "Or turn them down."

"Is there anything else with the case that you need my help with?" Dr. Franks said after the two were silent for a moment.

"No, thank you for your assistance doctor," Beckett said, shaking her head. As he left she turned to Castle and said, "I'm wondering about the Arabic and Hindu writing."

"Think he'd be those nationalities?" he asked.

Shaking her head no, Beckett turned and walked out of the room, pausing when she saw that Ryan and Esposito were standing by their desks around the latter's phone. "Guys?" she asked, as they looked at her and then quickly away.

"I should go," the voice on the other end said.

"No, hold on Lanie," Beckett said quickly and a little sharply. "What did you find? And don't try to sugar coat anything or hide it. I'm not a child and if I'm ever going to get over this completely, I need to work through it. On my own," she ended quickly in case her friend might suggest anything. "Go ahead."

"Alright, it follows the same as the first two," Lanie said. "She was drugged via some alcoholic drink; I don't know the exact composition of it so I couldn't tell you what it was-"

"She couldn't have been at a bar," Castle said.

"It's unlikely," Lanie continued on the other end. "And she was knocked out with chloroform, but there's residual around the corners of her mouth."

"Then he kept her under," Ryan said.

"And I found that he actually didn't rape her, but he did do a lot of damage with his fingers," Lanie said. "I'm sorry Beckett."

"No, he's getting frustrated," she said quickly, ignoring the fact her partners and fiancé were watching her. "He can't complete this stupid spiritual marriage, so he's taking it out on them. Any kind of semen sample?"

"A small one," Lanie said. "Much smaller than the one on the second vic, so we'll have to do some work on it to be able to compare it to the other sample. Once I have anything I'll of course let you know."

"Is that it?" Beckett asked.

"That's it, like I said, everything else is the same as the last two times," Lanie replied.

Beckett went over to the murder board after thanking the doctor quickly, standing in front of it as Castle offered to write what they'd learned down. "What I don't get is if these are different men, how on earth is the writing of _mamounia_ the same each time," she said to him as Ryan and Esposito walked over to them.

"A stencil, or whoever it is that's painting it on the vics comes in to do so, but that would be a bigger risk," Castle said.

"More likely a stencil," Beckett commented. "Alright, anything besides what Lanie found?"

"Not really, still looking at the list of names from the homeless shelter," Esposito said. "But nothing's standing out to me."

"It's possible this guy, these guys," Beckett corrected herself. "Are covering their tracks, if it's one man, he could have done that community service earlier than your list. How long did our third vic go there?"

"For about three years," Esposito replied.

"We can split those names up," Ryan said. "We don't really have anything else since I found the number that called the cab for our third vic was a burner phone that had no GPS and is disconnected. And the driver of the cab that picked up the vic dropped her off at a park which she walked into before the driver headed to his next fare."

"What about the letters, did they find any fingerprints, DNA?" Castle asked.

"We haven't heard from them… thanks LT," Ryan said, taking the file the officer handed him. "Now we have," he said as he read the paper inside. "They found a thumbprint on the top of the letter, but like that semen sample we got, no match."

"Which would be weird if he had to do community service," Esposito pointed out.

"For all we know he could have volunteered there to look for her," Beckett said.

"Okay, so now we know what we'll be doing tonight," Ryan said, glancing at his partner.

"What? Oh, yeah, exactly bro," Esposito said in confusion at first. "Pretty much grunt work Beckett."

"Yeah, I got the hint with the look he was giving me," Beckett said, nodding to Ryan. "And I'll take said hint because I need to see my little girl. If you find anything, text me, I'm putting my phone on silent because tonight is going to be about us."

"Uh, if that's the case, you guys want to call me?" Castle asked.

"She can do that, we're not making two calls," Esposito said as Beckett put on her jacket.

"But it's…" Castle began. "Fine, Beckett, call me okay? Or just forward the text or whatever. See you tomorrow I guess."

"His mom's taught him too much," Ryan commented.

Beckett didn't comment on that, as she was fighting a smile as she buttoned up her jacket though she didn't really need to. "Thanks guys, if I owe you anything…?" she told them as she was ready to leave.

"Go on a date with him?" Esposito asked. He made a face and looked at Ryan at the glare she was giving him saying, "Laine wouldn't leave me alone if I didn't suggest."

"It was a nice effort, I'll give you that," Beckett said simply. "As unsuccessful as it was. See you tomorrow guys."

Watching her go, Ryan looked at Esposito and said, "Too direct."

"It was worth a shot, but I can just hear Lanie," Esposito replied with a slight groan. "You're going to scare her off Javi," he said, mimicking the doctor's voice as he and Ryan sat back down behind their desks.

* * *

Turning from the window where he was watching the rain falling, Castle said, "Accident?"

"One, the driver had a little bit of a problem getting around. A lot of cursing, I thought I was being chauffeured by a sailor," Beckett said, walking over to him. "Any reason we're in a market?"

"Something I wanted to get for Julia," Castle said, taking her hand. "Come on."

Looking around as he walked to the frozen foods, Beckett asked, "I thought you'd be getting her something for dinner, not dessert."

"This is dinner," Castle said, going to the produce past that section. "How do you think she's doing now?"

"I don't know," Beckett said honestly as she helped him pick out some Japanese yams. "I texted my dad, but told him not to tell her we're coming back."

"To surprise her?" Castle asked.

"And because I don't know how long we're going to be here," Beckett said, following him down another aisle.

"Okay, this is why you're here with me," Castle said, showing her a box.

"Couscous? I'm not sure. Why not just some pasta," Beckett said simply.

"You're just saying that because it'll get us out of here faster," Castle commented. But before she could reply to that he was taking her hand and pulling her to get a box of Julia's favorite pasta before they left to pay. Once they were back outside he held the umbrella he'd been fortunate enough to bring with them to their third crime scene earlier. "I have to say that was a good idea." When she looked at him questioningly he quickly said, "The pasta."

"Let's just go home," Beckett said, squeezing his hand that was near hers before they braved the rain to walk around the block to her building.

* * *

"Julia, honey, you're sure you don't want anything to drink?" Jim was asking as he went to the kitchen. When his granddaughter shook her head, he frowned slightly, following her gaze to the door. He checked the time for a second time since getting his daughter's text, and wondered where they were. He was starting to get worried about Julia, who had been very withdrawn since her mother and Castle had left.

Looking up as her grandfather sat next to her on the couch, Julia smiled a little and set her Stitch doll next to her before she hugged him tightly. "I'm kay Grandpapa," she told him.

"I know, but you don't want to do anything? Are you sure you don't want to open these cards?" Jim asked.

Julia shook her head, when the door unlocked, and a wide smile spread across her lips before she jumped off the couch and ran to the door. "Mommy!" she whispered in joy, seeing her walk in.

"Sweetie," Beckett said, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, but not caring as she picked up her daughter. She hugged her tightly as Julia buried her face into her neck and she stroked her hair as she stepped inside, kissing her temple. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I missed you," Julia said. "And Castle too," she said, reaching out to him with her hand.

"So did we," Castle assured her. He kissed her temple as he took her and asked, "Did you have fun with your grandfather?"

"A little," Jim replied for her. "She didn't really want to do much besides color, which we were doing when you called earlier."

"That's fine," Beckett said quickly as she glanced at Julia.  
"What's with the envelopes?" Castle asked as their daughter pulled him over to the coffee table.

"Her teacher came an hour ago, with her dance instructor," Jim said. "The kids in the two classes made her cards."

"How sweet, but why didn't you open them?" Beckett asked as she joined them.

"Wanted to wait for you Mommy, and Castle," Julia said simply.

"Why don't you bring them over to the kitchen, I'm going to get dinner started," Castle said. "And open those up so I can see them too?"

"Yeah, please Mommy?" Julia asked her mother, going to her.

"We can," Beckett answered quickly. "Dad, are you staying? Oh, that dinner's tonight isn't it?"

"It is, I need to get back home to change," Jim said. "But I'll come over tomorrow night."

"Why tomorrow?" Beckett asked, watching as Castle picked up the stack of envelopes.

"My schedule is completely free, and I'm talking about the entire day," Jim said.

"Thank you," Beckett said quietly as Julia was walking up to them. She knew he'd taken the day off to watch his granddaughter if they needed him to, and she squeezed his arm before saying, "Sweetie, say goodbye to your grandpapa, he needs to go."

Watching as the little girl said goodbye to Beckett's father, Castle looked at his fiancée. He'd been watching her closely since the interview earlier that day, and was surprised to see it looked like she had recovered a lot more than he'd expected. He was relieved to see it, and once her father had left, he took her hand before she went to sit at the counter with their daughter.

Smiling slightly as she knew what he was thinking, Beckett leaned over and brushed her lips against his before he let her go reluctantly. "Okay sweetie," she said, turning to Julia who was watching them, a little smile on her face. She picked their daughter up and sat across from Castle at the counter, watching him start to cook. "You've got a lot of cards here, so I think I know what you can do until you go back to school."

"What?" Julia asked as her mother opened the first envelope.

"Making thank you cards," Castle answered for her. "You have to thank them for taking the time to send you those."

"I thought so," Julia said, nodding once. "Mrs. Clayton was worried until she saw me she said. Miss Amber too."

"You're a great student, so why wouldn't they be worried if you're okay?" Castle said.

"He's right," Beckett said quickly when Julia looked at her for confirmation of that. "Okay, this first card is from Johnny and it says _hope you can come back to school so we can play at recess_."

"Did Mrs. Clayton write it?" Julia asked. When her mother nodded she smiled and said, "She has pretty writing. Yours is prettiest Mommy."

"Hey, what about me?" Castle asked, leaning over the counter.

"Yours is nice," Julia giggled softly. "What's for dinner?" she asked interestedly. "You'll find out," Castle said simply. "Who's that one from?" he asked Beckett to distract their daughter.

"This is from Iris," Beckett read.

Julia looked on as her mother read the message in the cards that her teacher and dance instructor had written out for the students; the names of each student written themselves. She took the time to admire all the drawings in each card, not realizing how much time had passed before Castle was taking her off her mother's lap. "Dinner?" she asked in surprise as he put her in her chair at the table.

"It is, we're a little bit early today, I'm just hoping that means we can watch something until you need to take a bath," Castle said, watching as Beckett walked over with Julia's plate.

"Yes, but when I say it's time to take a bath…" she replied, pointing at him.

"Like I'm going to win that argument," Castle said, smiling when Julia giggled at them. "Okay, so I made you some Alfredo, I know how much you like that, and I really hope the pasta's extra soft, tried to make sure it was. And also made you your favorite, mashed Japanese yams, with just one marshmallow on top."

"Just one?" Julia asked a little pleadingly.

"Your mom would be really angry if I put anymore," Castle said, sitting down next to her with his plate, exaggerating the word really.

"Thank you for one," Julia then said before she started to reach for the yams first. She looked up in surprise when her mother took her wrist and instead made her get some pasta on her fork. "Mommy," she said, wrinkling her nose though she was smiling.

"I know sweetie, I'm terrible, but I want you to eat that first," Beckett said, leaning down to kiss her forehead before she sat down with them.

For a few minutes, the three were silent as they ate their first few bites of the meal, Castle and Beckett making sure their daughter wasn't having any problems eating the food. Eventually though, he spoke first, directing a question to the other two as they looked up at him when he began to speak.

"So are we all ready for Mother's Day?" Castle said.

"I think so, but I don't really have much to do with what's going on," Beckett said. "Since I'm the mother. Why are you asking?"

"No, just checking to make sure we've got our plans set," Castle said.

"What do we do?" Julia asked interestedly.

"Well, since our parents want to spend the morning with us, we'll go to the Met first I think," Castle said, looking at his fiancée then.

"The Met, Julia hasn't been there for almost a year," Beckett agreed. "This time she can take pictures."

"Yeah, let's go," Julia whispered eagerly. "I wanna take pictures of the statues; the ones of the ladies in the old dresses were pretty."

Castle breathed out an audible sigh of relief; earning him a pinch on the arm from Beckett since he'd been joking; before he said, "You like the paintings too right?"

Nodding since she was eating the yam then, Julia then asked, "Can I get the oil crayons this time?"

"We'll look at them when we go," Beckett replied. "Castle," she said simply when he opened his mouth to speak. "If you want to get her the pastels, you'll have to color with her and wash her hands after."

"Will do," Castle said, giving a salute and smiling as they turned to their daughter who was laughing. "Are we that funny?"

"Yeah, 'cause you do what Mommy says right away," Julia said. "Is it 'cause she's with the police."

"Actually no," Castle said, glancing out of the corner of his eye at his fiancée. "It's because I don't want her mad at me, so mad she wouldn't let me do this," and with that he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it before turning it over, brushing his lips very lightly against her wrist, feeling her tense up immediately.

"That's good, I think Mommy likes that," Julia said.

"Sweetie, don't be a smart alec," Beckett said, smiling at her as she leaned over to share a kiss with Julia who had returned her smile with a grin. "But back to Sunday."

"Yeah," Castle said, knowing she wanted to change the subject quickly before their daughter could tease them as she'd just done. He was relieved though to see Julia hadn't minded that, but focused back on the topic. "So the Met, and then lunch by the park. And then we get dessert and take Julia into the park to have a dessert picnic and maybe if it's not raining, we can fly your kite again?"

"Yes," Beckett said with a laugh as Julia sucked in a deep breath. She knew her daughter was going to ask if it was okay, so she quickly beat her to it, continuing with, "I don't know where the rain came from today, but Sunday should be much better and since you won't be going outside until then, we can take your kite with us."

"What about after," Julia said.

"I'm making you two dinner," Castle said. "And then we can play games; if your mom wants to."

"That's fun Mommy," Julia said in a serious tone of voice.

Smiling, Beckett leaned over and shared a kiss with her daughter saying, "I love you sweetie."

"I love you too Mommy," Julia said. "But can we play games?"

"We can," Beckett said. "Are you done?"

When Julia nodded yes, Castle let Beckett take her plate, so he could go over to their daughter. He whispered in her ear, and then smiled when she bit her lower lip, looking up at him questioningly. "It'll be okay," he promised her.

"What will?" Beckett asked, walking back to them.

"Flying the kite, I promised her I wouldn't lose it in a tree," Castle said.

"Like Charlie Brown," Julia said. She squirmed on her chair then and got down from it as Castle and Beckett were watching her. She hurried to the coffee table and sat at it as she watched them cleaning up from the meal. When Castle walked over to her, she quickly said, "What do we watch?"

"Hold on," he said, picking her up. "Are you ready for dessert?"

"Now?" Julia asked, holding onto him around the neck.

"Yep, I know I said earlier we were going to finally eat the Jell-O, but I think you should have that for lunch tomorrow okay?" Castle said, setting her on top of the counter as Beckett was waiting for them in the kitchen. "Now though, I'm going to make you a milkshake. Want one?"

"I love how you ask her after you say you're going to make it for her," Beckett commented a little wryly. She laughed slightly when Castle grabbed her around the waist and whispered into her ear before she pushed him away from her. "Do you want one sweetie?" she asked their daughter as they turned back to Julia.

"Please," was all the little girl said. "What kind is it?"

"You can either have chocolate or strawberry," Castle commented. "Though I already know which," he said as he brought out the chocolate syrup. "When did you get Ghirardelli?" he asked his fiancée.

"When our daughter recognized the eagle on the brand," Beckett said. "I'm glad I humored her. Does she need to stay while you make it?"

"If she wants to," Castle said. "Want to learn?" he asked Julia.

Beckett shook her head as their daughter nodded, and she leaned over, kissing Julia's forehead before going to her computer. She turned it on, and searched for the Met's official site to see what they had new to look at when they went that weekend. Before the page loaded, she heard Julia calling her name and stood, walking back to the kitchen as she turned off her screen quickly. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's Alexis," Castle said. "Want to set up Skype for me?" he asked.

"Yes, but are you ready to talk with her?" Beckett said before he was handing her a glass. "Thank you."

"I just need to get mine ready," Castle said as he put Julia down. "Which it will be right now…"

As he was putting the ice cream concoction through the blender, Beckett got everything set up at her TV for the conversation, and by the time Castle joined her and Julia, Alexis was on the screen. "Hey Alexis," she said since she was standing closest to the web cam.

"Hi Beckett, how's Julia?" the young woman asked.

"Hi," Julia whispered to her as she waved.

"Hi Julia, how're you feeling?" Alexis said, smiling widely when she saw her.

"Kay, my throat hurts a little still," Julia said. "But I don't feel like I did yesterday."

"I can tell, you seem to have a lot more energy," Alexis replied with a slight laugh. "Are you tiring out your mom?"

"Mommy and Castle are working," Julia said simply.

Glancing at her at the slightly listless tone the little girl had, Castle said, "We're still working on a case with Ryan and Esposito. But we're hoping to help them solve it very soon."

"Are you going to keep working the rest of the week?" Alexis asked.

"No," Beckett said firmly, looking at Julia. "We're spending the rest of it with Julia, and if we're forced to, we'll block their numbers and the Precinct."

Looking up at his fiancée in surprise, Castle saw that she was serious, and he glanced down at Julia who was leaning against him. "Hold on," he said before Alexis could say anything. "Sit," he told Beckett, pulling on her hand as he put their daughter on his lap. "So anything new today?"

"Not really, Diana and I were talking about this weekend and where we might go," Alexis said.

"Are you two all ready for San Diego?" Castle asked quickly.

"We are, is Gram?" Alexis replied with a smile, remembering the Memorial Day trip her father had given to her, Diana and Martha.

"All set, we've looked into the city, and Diana's right, it sounds amazing," Castle said. "I got the tickets for you for the zoo, though I'm surprised you don't want to head down to Tijuana."

"Who says we aren't?" Alexis said wryly. She saw the concerned look on her dad's face and quickly assured him saying, "We'll go during the day, and mostly to get some souvenirs. Anything you want from Mexico Julia?"

"A surprise," the little girl said simply. "Where do you go in San Francisco?"

"Well, we were thinking of going through Haight-Ashbury and then into Golden Gate Park since you know the two are next to each other," Alexis said. "We're planning on having a picnic by the De Young Museum before we go look at the new Monet exhibit they have."

"We're gonna see paintings too," Julia said eagerly.

"On Mother's Day, I was about to look at their site when your dad interrupted me," Beckett explained.

"Oh, Dad, did you get my gifts for Gram?" Alexis asked.

"I wrapped them and they're ready," Castle said with a nod. "She'll love the _kameez_ you bought. Where did you get it?"

"At an Indian shop that's at Haight-Ashbury," Alexis said with a smile. "I bought another _kameez_ for myself and these slippers that I'll wear Saturday." There was someone calling her from the bottom floor of the house then and she said, "I better go guys, Diana's making dinner for us and I promised to help out with her Dutch ham casserole."

"We'll talk to you tomorrow?" Castle asked.

"Thursday," Alexis told him. "But I'll text you tomorrow Julia, to see how you're feeling. Take care okay?"

"Kay, bye," Julia said, waving to her.

"Okay," Castle said as he went to the TV to turn everything off once he and his fiancée had said goodbye to his daughter. "Let's hope the milkshakes didn't melt. What are we watching?"

"Do we have a puppy show?" Julia asked.

"We do," Beckett answered. "It recorded on Saturday."

"What were we doing Saturday?" Castle asked, picking up Julia to set her on her mother's lap as he got the remote.  
"You were with your mom for dinner, Julia and I went to my dad's," Beckett reminded him.

"Right," Castle said. "I'm surprised you didn't remember the episode sweetheart."

"Why?" Julia asked, turning to look at him as he was sitting behind her mother.

"It's all Irish breeds," Beckett said. She grabbed their daughter when she started to bounce on her lap and said to Castle, "Better play it."

"What kind are they?" Julia asked, nearly tripping over the words in her excitement.

"We'll find out," Beckett said. "But they are cute," she continued as they were watching the intro to the show, seeing the three breeds.

"They always are," Castle said. He whistled then as the show began and they showed a dog with her puppies, the dog being huge. "Irish Wolfhound?" he said slowly.  
"Have you heard of them? They're the tallest breed of dog," Beckett said, looking back at him.

"Are they taller than me?" Julia asked.

"I think so," Beckett said.

"Can we get one? That doggie would make sure we were safe," Julia said pleadingly.

"I don't think so sweetie," Beckett said, not surprised she had asked that. "And no we can't get an Irish Setter," she said when the next litter of puppies was shown.

"Or the Irish Terrier," Castle said when the last litter was on the screen. He laughed slightly as he could see Julia's pout, and reached over Beckett to playfully tug on a strand of her hair. He sat back as they watched the rest of the show and finished their dessert, and once he stopped it he asked her, "So which was your favorite?"

"I like them all," Julia said as her mother took their glasses to the kitchen. "But I like the tall one a lot."

"Me too," Castle said. "Though I think you'd need to have a house for that one so it could run around."

"You have a house," Julia said.

"Sweetie," Beckett said in a slightly stern tone as she came back to the couch.

Sighing as she slumped, Julia asked, "What do we do now?"

"Don't say give her a bath, it feels too early," Castle said.

"Well," Beckett said, looking at her watch. "It's slightly too early. So we could watch something else but it needs to be short."

"What about a cartoon?" Julia suggested.

"You have some Disney cartoons recorded, oh, also you have _The Three Caballeros_ … you recorded that?" Castle asked his fiancée when he saw the movie on the list.

"I did, she saw it as it was on, and I recorded it later because she wanted to watch it," Beckett said. "Want to start that?" she then directed to Julia.

"Yes please," the little girl said quickly.

Playing the movie for twenty minutes, Beckett was the one to stop it and at Castle's and Julia's groans of protest said, "We're lucky we got to start it Julia, and Castle, really?"

"I haven't seen this movie in years," he answered defensively. "I'm surprised you let her watch it."

"She saw the part we ended on," Beckett said with a smile. "And she loved the Samba."

"That's how they dance in Brazil," Julia said in a matter of fact tone as her mother picked her up. "Are you gonna come?"

"Who do you want to give you a bath?" Castle asked as he stood to follow his fiancée to her bathroom.

"You," Julia said quickly.

"Okay," Castle said easily as Beckett turned to hand him their daughter. "So did you have fun today?"

"A little," Julia said honestly after hesitating for a moment.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Beckett asked as she helped Julia with her clothes as Castle got the tub prepared.

"Are you kay Mommy?" Julia asked seriously, looking up into her eyes.

"I am, did you think I was sad?" Beckett said, setting her into the water. She moved to sit down as Castle got on his knees next to the tub, making her wonder; as she did whenever he helped with their daughter's bath; if he wasn't hurting his left one doing that. But Julia spoke then and she shook her head of her thoughts.

"I felt like you were scared Mommy, when you were at work," Julia said, biting her lower lip.

Looking at his fiancée with wide eyes hearing that, Castle quickly turned back to their daughter saying, "She wasn't scared, a little sad because she missed you a lot."

"Is that true?" Julia asked hopefully.

"It is sweetie," Beckett said with a nod though she had to take a minute to get her voice back. "But you don't have to worry about me."

"Kay, but are you gonna work tomorrow?" Julia asked.

"We're going to try not to," Castle said. "But if your uncles need your mom, do you want me to stay?" he asked, not surprised that the question was barely finished before Julia was shaking her head no wildly. "Okay, I'll go with her, but we're really going to try not to go."

"And we mean it sweetie, we felt bad we weren't with you all day," Beckett said as she handed Castle some of Julia's bath toys. "You can play for a little bit sweetie, or else we won't be able to read to you."

Julia nodded, and started to push the toy animals she had through the water, throwing them up in the air to see the splash they made. She only did that for a few minutes, and then stood up.

"Already?" Castle asked as Beckett went to get her out of the tub.

"Yeah, I want a story," Julia said.

"I almost thought you were going to say you wanted to hear our plans for the wedding again," Beckett said with a smile. "And we forgot something when we were talking to Alexis," she said in realization, looking at her fiancé.

"That's she's the maid of honor, okay, I can give her a call right now," Castle said as he remembered too. "Fingers and toes," he began, tickling Julia's feet to her giggle. "Crossed that she'll be able to answer. Alexis?"

"Yeah Dad?" his daughter asked, on the screen of his phone.

"Sorry if we interrupted dinner or anything-" Castle began.

"No, dinner's in the oven and we're just sitting on her balcony, watching the view," Alexis said before turning her phone. "Julia there?"

"I see the city," Julia said happily as her mother took her over to Castle.

"Great. What did you call for Dad?" Alexis asked.

"Something Beckett and I forgot to tell you about," he said. "We've told you that we started to plan out our wedding a little bit. Well, last night we did so in more detail with a little help from Julia. And there's something Beckett wanted to ask you."

"Hold on," she said quickly. "We just gave Julia a bath… okay. Alexis, we're having a small ceremony we told you," Beckett said once she'd taken her fiancé's phone. "And that means we're not really planning on having a wedding party, just-"

"Julia, I understand," Alexis said before she could finish, feeling a little hurt though she tried to pass it off.

"Whoa, let her finish before you jump to conclusions," Castle said as they were heading to Julia's room since she was ready for bed.

"He's right; I wasn't going to ask you if you wanted to be excluded. I'm asking if you want to be _in_ cluded," Beckett said.

"Oh… what do you want me to do?" Alexis asked in surprise.

"We are having Julia in the ceremony-" Castle said as they sat against the headboard of the little girl's bed so he could hold the phone so they'd all be on the screen for Alexis.

"Yeah, Mommy and Castle said I'm gonna be the person who holds the rings and the flower girl," Julia said proudly.

"And I'd like you to be my maid of honor Alexis," Beckett said. "Not in the normal sense though," she continued with as Castle's daughter looked surprised. "Because your dad isn't going to have anyone as a best man, and I don't expect you to take on what a maid of honor is supposed to do when it's a big ceremony; a regular one. We just want you in the ceremony with your little sister; also to be there to help her should she need it."

"Please say yes Alexis," Julia begged before she could speak again. "I want you to get to wear a pretty dress too! What?" she asked as the other three laughed.

"I'd be honored, and thank you for asking me Beckett," Alexis said.

"There was no question as to who was going to help Julia, you are a part of the family of course," Beckett said simply. "And I knew already your dad would want you in the ceremony."

"But he'd be too chicken to ask you," Alexis said, smiling as Beckett nodded in agreement.

"Hey," Castle said, though he sighed. "Okay, so I might have been, but now you've got that set, Kate, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," Beckett said slowly.

"Don't put my daughter in a horrible dress," Castle said.

"Yeah, I'm not cruel," Beckett said, shaking her head.

"Is it going to be a horrible color?" Alexis asked.

"No," Beckett replied. "It'll be blue, as close to the blue of my aquamarine as we can get."

"Thank you," Alexis said in relief. "I better let you guys go though, you need to get her to bed don't you?"

"We do, thank you Alexis," Beckett said.

"You're welcome; I'll talk to you all later, Dad, anything else?" Alexis said.

"Not that I can remember, if there's something that we do recall, I'll text you instead of calling you," Castle said. After saying goodbye to Alexis he turned off his phone and turned to the other two saying, "Now what?"

"We can read for a little," Beckett said simply with a smile. "Just a little sweetie," she told Julia who opened her mouth to speak. She took the book they were working their way through from Castle; a collection of fairy tales based in Ireland; and she began to read.

After five pages Julia yawned widely, and Castle and Beckett took that as their cue to stop to get her tucked in. He leaned down and kissed her forehead tenderly before pulling back saying, "I love you Julia, sweet dreams." After she stopped nodding to him, he leaned down and shared a kiss with her before stepping back for Beckett.

"I love you too Julia," she told their daughter. "And sweet, sweet dreams." She had to smile at Julia's sleepily whispered, "I love you too Mommy," as she tucked the covers around her securely before she leaned down to share a kiss with her. Turning to Castle, she took his hand and they waited in the doorway for Julia to fall asleep before they left, going out to the living room.

"Anything you'd like to do now?" Castle asked. "Some coffee and a movie… talk?" he suggested, not looking at her.

"The latter," Beckett said. She smiled for a moment when he looked at her in surprise, and then said, "But I wanted to check something first on the computer."

"Oh yeah, the Met, any reason why?" Castle asked as she went to her computer and he went to the kitchen.

"Just to check out their temporary exhibits, see if it's okay to take Julia to see," Beckett said absently as she waited for her screen to turn back on. When she turned her attention to the middle of the screen she froze as her eyes went wide.

"I forgot to ask, do you want something to drink?" Castle asked, walking over to her then. "Kate?" he asked, seeing she was focused on her computer screen. "What?" he asked, seeing her expression. He was surprised when she didn't answer, instead turned the screen around as she stood up, showing him what she'd been looking at. "Alphonse-" he started to say.

"Mucha, I don't know how the hell I didn't see it, but it's him, he's the painter," Beckett said before going to a search engine on the screen. She put in the name and then the word seasons before entering it. "And there they are," she said as they looked at what the three vics had been posed as. "This…" she said as she glanced briefly at the woman in the poster for winter. "They're not paintings," she said when she regained her voice after a brief pause.

"No, but we know now that's our killer's medium," Castle said. "And why we couldn't recognize they were based on Mucha's lithographs, the lines around the hair and the edges of the bodies aren't there. But…"

"Why wouldn't the people at the Met realize this was based off art that was going to be shown at their museum?" Beckett finished for him. "The exhibit's opening this Sunday."

"Then they need to talk to the people there again," Castle said. "And since it's not open yet, if they had security cameras on these particular pictures, then we can get a suspect or suspects. They would be-"

"Staring at the pictures for a long time," Beckett said. "And it could be a worker-"

"Or a security guard, or even the guy Ryan talked to," Castle said. "That would make sense, he'd keep the fact he knows this series secret."

"But again, this suspect needs to be an artist, I don't know about the cabal theory the doctor had," Beckett said. "I think it's just one man on his own, the sketches and picture we have of the other men might point to the killer using them to throw us off his scent."

"Are you going to try to call them?" Castle asked as she got her phone.

"I need to, but I doubt they'll be able to talk with anyone at the Met until tomorrow," Beckett said, putting the call on speaker. "Espo?" she said when he answered.

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be with your daughter?" Esposito said.

"She's in bed, listen, I was thinking about taking her to the Met Saturday after her dance class though-" Beckett began.

"While she's sick?" Ryan asked.

"To watch," Beckett said. "But I need to see how she's doing first. But I was looking at the Met's site, and I found our artist. Search Alphonse Mucha's seasons."

Waiting for the two men to do so, Castle wasn't too surprised when he heard a hard whistle on the other end. He was tempted to speak, but held off as Ryan was the first to do so.

"So he's making the vics into these paintings?" the detective asked.

"Remember the psychologist said there was something with those paintings and likely a woman, or something concerning a woman that set this off," Beckett said. "And according to the site, they started setting up the exhibit a week ago."

"You think he got everything ready before they did that?" Esposito asked.

"I'd say it's more than likely," Beckett said. "So you have to contact the museum tomorrow, try and find out if there was a camera on those four pictures, and then see if there's anyone spending an abnormal amount of time around them."

"We will," Esposito said. "Since we didn't really get much from the list of homeless shelters. But we'll have to do that tomorrow morning. Going to call Castle?"

"I'll try," Beckett said simply. "Call me tomorrow if you find anything." She said goodbye to the two on the other end, then hung up, looking over at her fiancé. "You know Mucha?" she asked.

"One of my favorite artists," Castle said. "And I had to do a report on him in my history class back in high school. We were looking at the period of time Art Nouveau was popular, and had to choose from a list of politicians, royalty, writers or artists."

"I'm surprised you didn't pick a writer," Beckett said.

"Me too, but the name stood out to me," Castle said. "The more I saw of his work, the more I appreciated his genius. Especially his lithographs of women, he had a knack for making them…"

"Look like they were goddesses?" Beckett supplied when he trailed off.

"Worthy of worship," Castle said quickly.

Beckett nodded to that and then said, "I'm heading to bed."

"You like his art too," Castle said simply before she could walk away.

"I do, but I've never seen these four pictures," Beckett said. "Or else I would have recognized them a lot sooner."

"You had déjà vu though, we both did…" Castle said before he trailed off.

"Their hair," both he and Beckett said at the same time then, looking to the four pictures still on her screen.

"That was pretty much standard, which makes sense, given the time he was active as an artist," Beckett murmured. She then reached over to close the site and the screen before turning to Castle saying, "I still want to take Julia."

"And to the exhibit," Castle said with an understanding nod. At his fiancée's surprise he said, "Even though it's horrible to think about these vics being used to emulate his art, I think we should show that and the other pictures that will be there to her. I get the feeling she might like them too."

"So do I," Beckett said, nodding. "So we'll go Sunday."

"Sunday it is," Castle said, forgetting his intention to pour them some wine as he followed her into her room. "Kate," he said as she closed the door, missing the sound of the lock as it occurred as he spoke.

"Yeah?" she asked as she unbuttoned her white blouse.

"So you want to talk now," Castle stated, watching her.

"Not this second Castle," Beckett said simply as she pulled off the shirt and hurried into her NYPD shirt she slept in. "We should change."

"Right," he said, shaking himself as she didn't move after the shirt was covering her abdomen which he'd been unabashedly admiring the few seconds he'd been able to see it. He turned to get his own pajamas from his drawer, seeing he needed to head back to his place the next day if he was going to stay through that Sunday. When he'd finished changing, he went to the bed first, waiting for Beckett to finish changing before she walked over. "So is there a way you want to do this?" he asked as he watched her climb onto the bed with him.

"Not really," Beckett said. "I have the feeling though you've been watching me closely today; and not just while I was changing."

"Well, actually that's a yes to both," Castle said as she sat cross legged next to him so they were facing each other. He laughed when she pushed at his shoulder, and then said, "But you've gotten better after earlier. What happened?"

"I decided that I don't want to go through the rest of my life risking a relapse of how I was right after Queens," Beckett said. "And it's something my therapist and I talked about last year in May. That I managed to survive and to continue that, I needed to try and take what happened to me in stride, not let it bring me down."

"And you remembered that today," Castle said simply.

"After I saw the blood on the third vic," Beckett said with a slight nod. "I was back in that house, fighting with my mind because I was imagining what was going to happen to me and Julia if we didn't get out of there. And then I was remembering Harris and what he could have done if you and the boys hadn't come in time. It's why I went out to the river; I needed a moment to get back into focus. Thanks for following me out by the way."

"I actually was sort of forced," Castle began. "Not that I wasn't going to go, but I couldn't really run out of there," he said quickly as he realized what he had said sounded like.

"No, I understand, I'm assuming Lanie pushed you?" Beckett asked.

"Sort of," Castle said before he quickly told her what had been said before he'd left the warehouse. "But enough about me, you're okay now."

"I don't really know if I'll ever be okay completely," Beckett said, her tone containing a little bit of a warning in it. "My therapist said, this… was a traumatic event, I can't be expected to just erase it from my memory. Especially not when my mind will tend to make me relive it in some way through my dreams."

"Yeah, I agree with him, and I know about your nightmares Kate, what are you trying to say behind all that?" Castle asked, having picked up on her tone before getting concerned.

"You said once, that you didn't need anything complica-" Beckett began.

"Wait, wait," Castle said quickly. "That wasn't really what I mean," he said before grimacing slightly. "That was meant to… you know I heard you tell that bombing suspect how you'd remembered everything when you were shot right?" he said as he took her hand in his tightly. When Beckett nodded he sucked in a deep breath and said, "I really tried to forget you, to… move on. But it never worked, because when I came back from Vegas, I couldn't just stop seeing you."

"Was that flight attendant a distraction?" Beckett asked, remembering that moment when she'd first seen the woman vividly.

"And a mistake," Castle said quickly.

"Now what are you hiding?" Beckett asked, knowing that was only part of what he meant.

Taking a deep breath, Castle said slowly, "I wanted to hurt you. Kind of like I thought you had done to me by knowing for a year that I was in love with you."

"I was aware of that," Beckett said simply. When his head shot up she couldn't help smile at his flabbergasted expression and then said, "You didn't think I realized you were doing that? I wasn't sure what I had done to make you do that then, but I was aware that you were flaunting the fact that you were pulling away from me. But you never went away Castle, if you were honestly trying to, you should have never come back for that zombie case." She pressed her fingers to his lips when he was about to speak and then said, "It's why I told you that wall was coming down; I honestly didn't want to risk you finishing off our partnership as you'd kept saying you were going to, just in case."

"And?" Castle asked around her fingers.

"And I was ready, because I knew if you left I was going to regret it, though I took a little longer to admit that to myself," Beckett said softly as she watched Castle take her wrist to kiss her fingertips, knowing they were both thinking about her nearly falling off the roof after her fight with Maddox. "But we seem to have strayed a long way from our original subject."

"We did," Castle said, making himself stop then though he didn't let himself let go of her hand. "But you're okay now right? This isn't a façade or something?"

"I may regress to how I was this time last year," Beckett warned her fiancé, relief flooding through her at his slight nod. "But-"

"I'll be there if you need my help," Castle said. "And if that help is to not touch you, I'll be glad to do so."

"You're usually a better liar," Beckett said, studying him for a moment. She then smiled before she moved, sitting on his lap as she wrapped her arms around him. Not too surprised when they suddenly moved easily into a kiss, she kept it short before pulling back to press her forehead against his. "Thank you," she said, referring to his offer to help her. "But what about you?"

"Me?" Castle asked, tensing slightly.

Feeling that tension, Beckett easily said, "Yes, you, how are you doing with this case, with what's happening to these vics?"

Breathing out slowly, Castle said, "I can lie and say I'm not thinking about it, but I'm trying not to start becoming protective of you. Or overprotective I should say. But I see what's happened to these women, the 'ritual' the killer's trying to recreate, and I'm seeing you still as each woman and it…"

Beckett was a little startled at the strained emotion in her fiancé's voice, but it explained what she had been able to observe in him as they'd been working. She cupped his cheek with her hand then and said, "I know, it's difficult not to do that, but remember what I told you about influencing your nightmares about me?"

"I remember, and it's why I'm not completely nuts," Castle said, smiling when she laughed a little at that. "But, you're a pretty big help for me too."

"How so?" Beckett asked.

"Because you're still helping with the case. If you had been any other woman I wouldn't have been surprised to see you walk out the door of the warehouse earlier only to catch a cab back home. But since it's you Kate, you went back and you've found a possible major break in the case," Castle said, sitting up a little straighter, his tone serious. "Seeing your strength even with all of these memories, it makes me keep going because I want to be there with you. We… that's why I think; personally; we're as good for each other as we are because-"

"If one of us might falter, the other is there for support, to get us back to normal," Beckett finished for him. She nodded and said, "I was aware of that. We've gone through different incidents that we've needed each other in that way. It's a reason I said yes to your proposal."

"A reason?" Castle repeated as he wrapped his arms around her.

"One of many," Beckett said with a smile as she slid her arms around his chest and bent her knees.

"So at this point, we're continuing with the case," Castle said, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"As long as it takes," Beckett said. "And we'll get through this brief relapse we've both had," she then commented, pulling back to look at him. "I think we're pretty much set anyways."

"Well, close to it," Castle said, trying to fight his arousal as they leaned in close to each other.

Closing the gap between them, Beckett kissed her fiancé hard, hoping to convey that she knew what he had been hinting at. She was a little frustrated when he didn't seem to understand her though, and when they came together for a second, passionate kiss, she took his hands, wanting to make sure that he understood.

Shaking once and breaking off their kiss, Castle looked up at Beckett as she slid his hands underneath her shirt. "Are you sure?" he asked in slight shock.

Smiling at that in response, Beckett leaned down and kissed him again, that time very gently and quickly as compared to the previous times. She then nipped at his lower lip and said, "Do you remember how I was?"

Nodding, as right after Queens she would have been pushing him away in a panic. But as Castle ran his hands up and down the small of her back, he felt her body sinuous against his touch, moving into it as his skin slid across hers, shuddering heavily as he knew she was growing aroused.

"Do you need me to say it?" Beckett asked, having been watching him. When he didn't respond to that, she sighed; but it was a meaningless one; before she leaned down and whispered into his ear, "I want you Castle."

Looking up into her eyes, he made her get off him, and got off the bed once he could, pulling her over to her dresser. Before she could question him, he had her in his arms, kissing her passionately to keep her from protesting his actions. He pulled away from the kiss only when she started to pull on the bottom of his shirt. Taking her wrists, Castle shook his head saying, "I need you to promise me one thing Kate."

"At this point," Beckett said, her voice slightly breathless and tense in her arousal. "I would probably promise you anything."

"I only want one thing," Castle reiterated. "Let me take you tonight okay? Don't… try to change things around or stop me, just let me take care of you," he said, ending in a rush as he'd expected a harsh protest to that. He was a little startled when she merely wrapped her arms around him in response, and brushed her lips against his delicately.

"If my answer was no, I don't think I would have instigated this," Beckett said. "And I know if I need to, I can make you stop," she teased him.

"That I'm aware of," Castle said before they kissed again. He groaned as she pressed her tongue into his mouth, then followed it back to her mouth with his own. Holding her tightly, he almost forgot what he'd been about to do, before they pulled apart from one another with a heavy gasp of air. Looking into her eyes which were only half lidded; making him struggle to breathe at how she appeared; he reached for the bottom of her shirt, pulling it off of her. He had to school himself then not to go straight to her breasts, though he was literally aching to do so. He then shook his head and said, "This is wrong."

"What?" Beckett asked, a little worried as to what he meant by that.

"Help me," Castle said quickly, and they together got his pajamas off in record time before he was leaning down and kissing her as he held her half naked body against his fully nude one, tasting her groan as it disappeared into his mouth. He was still fighting with his instinct, though it was hard with the way their chests were pressed so tightly together, letting him feel everything.

Beckett couldn't help being a little touched at the way Castle was controlling himself as she could easily tell. She knew he was never able to stay away from her breasts for very long, and she realized he'd been serious about taking care of her. What she also comprehended at the same time was that he was forgetting his nightmares he had about her in Queens with that. She knew; as they'd talked about it before; that he considered every time they were intimate in some way a way to take another step from everything that had happened. She had taken that same mentality, and as he slid his hands under the rest of her clothes to carefully; reluctantly at first; cup her ass, she kissed him hard on the lips, relieved when he responded to her immediately. They were soon parting, but it didn't matter to her, since her clothes were off a matter of seconds later, and she was naked.

Sliding his hands down the sides of her body, Castle never broke off their gaze, even though he was tempted to watch her skin as it trembled under his touch. He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers once, then for a second time as she pressed against him, arms wrapping around his neck. He didn't give in to temptation though, and instead moved to kiss around her neck a few times before he went lower.

Breathing in short pants as Castle's lips followed his hands down her body, Beckett looked on as he reached the apex of her legs. She allowed him to lean her back slightly against the dresser, parting her legs enough for him to touch her, freezing for a moment as the first brush of his fingers sent a massive shock through her that had her reaching behind her, grabbing the edge of the furniture for support. She was lucky to have that, as a second later his mouth was replacing his fingers. " _Castle_ ," she moaned in a heady whisper as he proceeded to quickly flick his tongue against her swollen nub.

Feeling Beckett's hand on the back of his neck, Castle brought his hand up to carefully brush between her legs as he moved up to press a kiss over her mound. He felt her jerk against him slightly in response to his fingers, before she then moved his mouth back to the junction of her legs forcibly. Though he had told her he had wanted to take care of her that night, it hadn't meant he wasn't going to just let her take everything without say. He wanted her to make her desires known, just didn't want her to make him stop. He was relieved; but not surprised; that she seemed to subconsciously understand that, and he suddenly stood up. Seeing her eyes open as he picked her up, he carried her the few steps it took to get her on top of the bed, not even bothering to pull down the covers. He just laid her down and got on top of her, kissing her deeply as his fingers danced along her skin to the inside of her thigh, making her tremble against him.

Her breath short, Beckett wasn't sure if she would really be able to take much more of his teasing. She was tempted to tell him to stop, but at the same time wanted him to continue. She was lucky though, as he moved from her neck; where he'd gone to after their kiss; to her breasts she had a sudden idea that struck her. Reaching in between them, she curled her fingers around his erection, feeling his fingers and mouth kissing around her chest freeze immediately.

"Kate," Castle whispered hoarsely when she slowly began to stroke him. He tried to move his hand down to stop her, but her slapping it away made him immediately pull back before he realized her other hand was on the back of his head. He groaned a little as he nipped at her right breast, her hand squeezing slightly around him. He then proceeded to suckle at her hungrily, feeling her encouraging him by the way she stroked his hair. He had to school himself not to move, though it was hard not to as she kept moving up and down very slowly and deliberately around him. His fingers had been rubbing her inner thigh by then, trying to ghost across her skin, but he finally had to give up and he moved his fingers to her swollen nub. It was easy to find though his eyes were closed, and he groaned against her other breast he'd taken as he moved his fingers flat against her, feeling the way her body formed the apex that he suddenly found himself wanting to be pressed up against.

A little taken aback when Castle paused for just a brief second, Beckett was going to ask him what was wrong when he went back to what he was doing. She was confused by that, wondering if something was wrong. But her thought process switched to trying to take in everything he was making her feel. After that pause, he was moving his fingers over her folds, fingering her here and there before working his way back up. She shivered in pleasure as he was making her skin damp with her own arousal, and she tried to make sure she still pleasured him in return. She was a little lost as to how much longer he was doing that, when he suddenly stopped, nearly shocking her with the suddenness of it. "What… what is it?" she asked him, trying to focus on what he was doing as he made her let go of him carefully.

Not responding, Castle kissed her deeply as he moved to lay on top of her, pressing his hips to hers. He could feel her hands both on the back of his head, sliding down over his hair and the back of his neck before she held onto his shoulders. He could also feel her hips pressing up against him, and he decided they'd had enough of waiting. Shifting enough as he took her hand with his own, he made her reach with him in between their bodies until they were moving his arousal together, leading him to her. He pulled back once he'd coupled with her completely, feeling her trembling breath against his lips he whispered her name, and then crushed her lips with his own.

Arching her back slightly as Castle began to move, Beckett was quick to join him though it became a little difficult as the sudden sharp shock of pleasure snapped through her body, making her tense for a moment. But she was soon with him, and they were moving together carefully, slowly, knowing it was because he didn't want to push her after how she'd been after interviewing Norton. She found she didn't mind it at all, as she was still feeling more than a little pleasure from the way he moved within her. He was slow, and deliberate, and in the daze that quickly sent her scrambling to keep her mind focused on him, she could almost feel him, every inch that was filling her, leaving her only to return again. He was kissing around her pendant, his lips seeming to be matching his rhythm exactly. She was biting her lower lip as she held him tightly to her, moving her legs to wrap one high up around his waist, the other around his legs, hoping he could feel that.

What Beckett didn't realize was that Castle was feeling the sensation immediately, and as he moved once she had stopped moving, he could tell the difference as she was surrounding him, drawing him in deeper though he couldn't sink into her anymore than he could at that moment. It didn't matter though, as he lifted his head to look at her face and could see her pleasure written across it. When her teeth caught her lower lip, he was bending his head slightly, brushing his lips to hers and murmuring to her in a tender tone of voice that startled him at first, but one he became a little proud of as his fiancée opened her eyes to look at him, swearing he saw them misting slightly.

It wasn't too often that Beckett found herself emotional during sex, but the tone of Castle's voice as he told her he loved her and adored her had her fighting back her tears. She guessed the addition of their talk before they had begun to make love had added to things, but she wasn't fighting back the tears at the fear of seeming weak. She was fighting them because she didn't want to waste time with tears when he was taking her so meticulously. She needed to focus on what he was doing, what he was making her feel, and she soon regained control of herself; to a certain degree. He had cupped her cheek and was kissing her sensuously, making her tremble in response before he brushed his lips across hers, making her move against him.

For a moment the two played around each other, not quite committing to a kiss, but still feeling each other's lips and breath as they moved their heads. They kissed deeply when they couldn't take the teasing anymore, all the while their bodies were still moving together, but so slowly their groans of pleasure muffled by their mouths were louder than their lovemaking.

Pulling back from their kiss, Castle waited for Beckett to open her eyes before he moved to her neck. While he was brushing his lips across her skin there, he was at the same time sliding his hand up her side, feeling her ribs as she was panting for air. He could feel his fiancée's skin; silky smooth though by then sporting a sheen of sweat from moving against him; tensing under his touch. He then moved back enough to watch her, waiting for a reaction as he cupped her breast carefully.

"Castle," Beckett moaned slightly as he didn't move his hand, just kept it in the same place. She was a little irritated at that, but she was grateful that he hadn't stopped moving completely. She finally couldn't take it anymore, and cupped the back of his head with her hand, intending to push him down to her breast that he was by then stroking his thumb across. But before she could do that, he was already bowing it down, and she tried not to cry out as he nuzzled her nipple with his mouth. Her breath became rough pants as he parted his lips to take the nub, and she was closing her eyes tightly as he proceeded to suckle gently at her. There was a part of her; mostly in the back of her mind; that was still trying to figure out why she was so sensitive with him. Her past lovers had never elicited the sensations he was giving her. But since it wasn't at the forefront of her mind, she didn't bother to dwell on it for long as her fiancée was grabbing her hand, putting it on his cheek.

Castle had intended to have Beckett touch him; putting her hand on his face; but with her sudden switch in her position he was scrambling a little to follow her. She kept one leg around him, but the one that had been wrapped around his legs was suddenly on the bed, and he was sinking inside of her deeper than before. The rush of sensations; not to mention pleasure; that immediately caused, nearly had him forgetting what he'd set out to do after their talk. It was a momentary struggle, but he was able to regain control and as he shifted his hips enough to give her a little more pleasure in return, he watched her, having been unable to stay at her breasts while she was doing that. He saw what she was feeling, in the way her body moved against him, her arms up next to her head, and the vision she made, muscles discernible under the skin in their taut exertions, her breasts moving with her, her face unable to hide the ecstasy, was making him shake inwardly. He had to wonder where the kiss came from that he suddenly gave her, rough, his lips biting at hers, making them swollen before he coaxed her tongue into a duel with his own that never really saw either of them winning. It was harsh and passionate at the same time, and the fact that she took and gave at the same time was leaving him reeling. Pulling away from her suddenly to their gasps for air, he groaned against her ear, "Why?" a harsh whisper that he hoped was going to convey what exactly he was questioning.

Hearing the tone in his pleading; though the question was only contained in one word; Beckett had to wonder if he realized what exactly he was asking her to explain. It was going to be impossible to relate to him why she was giving herself to him; which was what the why was for. And she knew he already knew the answer to that, they'd spoken of it, and the fact that she had never really turned him away from sharing her bed, or refused to share his had indicated to him his answer. She didn't reply verbally at first, instead pulled him back to her lips, where she kissed him very slowly, having to pacify him when he started to intensify things. After a while he calmed and followed her lead; making her hope that her fiancé realized that was another reason he was with her. She shook that thought off quickly and pressed her forehead against his, whispering a little falteringly, "Because I… I love you… _Castle_ …" before the very last thread of her self control snapped, her arms going around his neck as tightly as they could as she arched up against him, moaning continually in her ecstasy as it found every inch of her body.

"Kate, I love you too," Castle managed to say, trying not to drag out the last word before it was luckily replaced by a loud and long groan. He thrust a little harder against her as he followed her over the edge, luckily she was doing the same in the midst of her pleasure, and he heard himself whispering her name in the middle of all of that. He buried his face into her neck until they stopped, slowly calming down from their mutual high. He tried not to lie on top of her; he always tried not to as he knew his form had to be heavy against her more petite one; but as always tended to happen, he couldn't move to lift himself up. But when she stroked the back of head he knew she was alright.

"You managed to keep things centered on me, I'm impressed," Beckett teased him with when she could talk.

"I had to," Castle said, finally moving to look at her. "You realize I realize I'm really lucky right?"

"Yes, and you didn't have another word for realize in mind?" Beckett asked.

"After that? My speech is very simple, so take what you can get," Castle said simply with a shrug. He smiled when Beckett rolled her eyes, and he leaned down, kissing her gently before she responded to him. When they had parted he whispered against her lips, "I meant what I said before," his tone serious.

"I know," Beckett replied, unable to help biting her lower lip slightly. She smiled a little when Castle caught her lip between his own teeth, and it slid easily into another kiss, that one a little stronger than the one that preceded it. They pulled away and she sighed saying, "I want to check on her."

"I know," Castle said, taking that as his cue to get off her. He did so a little reluctantly, kissing his fiancée firmly but briefly before they got out of bed to dress.

"You don't have other pajamas do you?" Beckett asked, remembering the way he'd taken them to the dresser.

"No, I'm going to need to head home for a little bit tomorrow," Castle said. "But I'll come back, I promise."

"I'm pretty sure Julia will make you," Beckett said as she left the room first. She opened the door to Julia's room, seeing the little girl still fast asleep, and she stood with Castle in the doorway for a little longer to watch their daughter. Finally though, they left together, heading back to her room. She paused when she saw the obvious signs they'd made love on top of the comforter and she started to pull it off.

"Would have taken too long to get under the covers," Castle said as he joined her.

"I know, but I needed to switch to my thinner cover anyways, summer is almost here," Beckett commented. She was a little startled when Castle took her left hand in his; her ring on since they'd come back; and she looked up at him. "I'm saying that with anticipation," she commented as she pushed the comforter with one hand to the ground.

"I know, believe me, I could tell," Castle said before taking her in his arms. He was a little startled when she slipped out of his embrace and went to the bed, smiling at him a little suggestively. Following her under the covers, he was ready for her kiss, groaning as she slipped her tongue in his mouth, making him instantly respond. Pulling back, he settled on his back before she pressed against his side, her cheek on his shoulder.

"You know, not a lot of men would admit to that," Beckett said.

"I know, but, you come to a point where you realize one reason you're in love with someone is because they're you're support if you ever need it. And that's what I realized- discovered with you," Castle said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"So have I, it wasn't something I expected, but believe me when I say I've embraced it," Beckett said before she raised her head and kissed Castle deeply.

The two couldn't stop with just one, and soon were lying down after their third kiss. They were pleasantly fatigued, their exertions taking place of the emotional stress they'd gone through, and were soon asleep, pressed close under the covers as the rain outside eased until it stopped fully to leave the night sky clear for the approaching dawn.


	9. Watch The Crowd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Can She Do It Like She Dances written by Steve Duboff and Gerry Robinson and sung by Ringo Starr, from Ringo's album Ringo the 4th.

"… so I can give her those?" a whisper cut into Beckett's sleep as she caught the last of what was said. She realized who was speaking, so she remained still to listen as Castle's deeper voice replied.

"Yeah, I think she'll love them. But that's not what you wanted to ask me huh?" he asked Julia who had woken him up, worriedly asking about Mother's Day that they had planned out together for her mother when they'd had the chance.

"No," Julia whispered, biting her lower lip. She smiled when Castle leaned down to kiss her forehead and she looked up at him asking, "Why did you do that?"

"You look a lot like your mom when you do that," Castle said simply. "I told you, you do not need to worry about your presents, she will love them because they're from you."

"But I want them to be special," Julia protested, looking at her mother who was lying still next to them. "I want her to remember, 'cause I don't remember Mother's Day before."

"Well you were young last year," Castle said simply, knowing Beckett didn't want Julia to know why they hadn't celebrated then. "But you're five now and that's a pretty good age to remember things. So I know your mom will remember this Sunday, no matter what you give her okay?"

"He's right," Beckett said, sitting up then. She smiled when Julia blushed and then climbed over Castle to sit on her lap. "Good morning sweetie, I guess your throat's feeling a little better?" she said as they hugged.

"Yeah, little bit," Julia said. "Morning Mommy," she then said. "But I still have to talk soft like this."

"I know, that's okay," Beckett said, kissing her forehead. "Any calls?" she directed to Castle, checking the time.

"Still a little early, but if they're looking at the footage they're probably not done yet," he said in response, shaking his head. As he finished speaking her phone made the sound she had set for text messages, and he and Julia watched her pick it up.

"Okay," Beckett said, setting aside her phone after reading the message. "I'm guessing you're hungry?" she directed to Julia. When the little girl nodded she then said, "Then go ahead and get your slippers and we'll meet you in the living room." She shared a kiss with her, watching as Castle did the same before she grabbed her phone again. "It's early Lanie," she said after the doctor had answered on the other end.

"I know, why do you think I sent you a text? How's Julia?" Lanie asked.

"Pretty good, still whispering though," Beckett replied. "Her energy is pretty much back to normal."

"She sounds like she's recovering normally," Lanie said. "So about why I texted you, I discovered something earlier, and I told Esposito and Ryan about this already. I was checking on the third vic, when I noticed in the light that there was something in the corner of her mouth. I missed it the first time because the angle of the light had to be just right. I grabbed it and setting it under a microscope, discovered it was a thread."

"What kind of thread?" Beckett asked.

"Just a regular silk thread," Lanie replied.

"Silk?" Beckett asked. "So since it was at her mouth, it was obviously used by the killer to administer the chloroform. Were you able to find it on the other vics?"

"I did, on the first vic, caught on one of her toenails," Lanie replied. "So it's likely he used it to clean her body as well. And in case you're wondering about a color, it's grey."

"Which would make it harder to see than white or another color," Beckett nodded. "So it's a handkerchief."

"That would be my best guess. I've sent in the two samples to the FBI to see if they can confirm that," Lanie replied.

"Okay, anything else?" Beckett said.

"That's all, say hi to Julia for me," Lanie said.

"I will Lanie, bye," Beckett said before hanging up her phone after the doctor had said goodbye on the other end. "I have to wonder how common that is."

"A silk handkerchief? Well, considering he used it for the chloroform and to clean the vics… I don't get the feeling they were specially bought," Castle said.

"It would be too easy to track him that way," Beckett said with a nod. "Well, the boys know about it already, so I think we can let them handle it. Unless you want to try and search it?"

"I'll pass, since I don't know much besides it being silk thread, could be just a length of grey silk from a cloth store, or anywhere that sells cloth," Castle said as they got out of bed then, wondering why Julia hadn't come to check on them.

"Which is why you're leaving it to the FBI to identify," Beckett said, smiling a little at his nod. She ran her fingers through her hair as they walked to the living room, but paused when she didn't see their daughter. "Julia?" she called.

"Sorry!" came a hurried whisper in response. "I was watching Kauai, he said his throat hurts too but it's better now."

"Is that right?" Castle asked, picking her up. "And did he have the same surgery as you did?"

Julia nodded and asked, "What do we eat? I don't want the same thing he had."

"I've got something in mind," Castle said. "My special pancakes."

"She should be able to handle that," Beckett said, since he was looking questioningly at her. "But you're not dousing them in syrup."

"How'd you know I wanted to do that?" Castle asked as he handed her Julia.

"Because I know you, very well," Beckett said, shaking her head. She smiled when he sighed, but grabbed his shirt before he could walk to the kitchen, and pulled him to her so they could share a quick kiss.

"Me too, to say good morning," Julia said quickly, tugging on his sleeve.

Sharing a kiss with her next, Castle tousled her hair, making Julia giggle in response before he said, "Time for you to get to work sweetheart."

"Oh! The cards?" Julia asked eagerly.

"He's right, we should get started on that, you have a pretty nice pile," Beckett said. She set Julia down at her direction, and followed her back to her room to get her art supplies.

Watching the two while he was cooking, Castle made the meal quickly, including some berries that were easier for Julia to eat. He got everything over to the table in a hurry; since he knew that they had no way of knowing when Ryan or Esposito would be calling; and when they sat down to eat, was a little startled at the knock on the door. "Is that them?" he asked his fiancée who got up to answer.

"I doubt it," Beckett said. "Not without calling first to make sure Julia was up."

"Should I head into the heater closet?" Castle asked as she looked out the peephole, nodding to the door by the table as the little girl was looking up at him in confusion.

"No, it's my dad," Beckett said, opening the door. "You're here early," she said as she allowed him inside.

"I wanted to see my granddaughter again," Jim explained simply. "And also be here so you wouldn't have to wait to go back to work."

"We're trying not to," Beckett said as Julia ran up to them after Castle had helped her down from her chair.

"Can I get you some coffee Jim?" Castle asked as he walked over to the kitchen.

"How did you forget?" Beckett asked her fiancé after her dad had answered with a yes.

"Slipped my mind," Castle said easily as he watched the three go over to the table. "We have some extra pancakes," he said. "And-" he began when Beckett's phone rang.

"It's just a text," Beckett said. "From Ryan, they're looking at what we were talking about last night. They'll call us if they need our help."

"Okay, then back to breakfast," Castle said before turning back to her coffee machine.

When he sat down with them at the table with three mugs of coffee and a plate for her grandfather, Julia said, "How did you not drop them?"

"A lot of practice," Castle answered, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. "How are they?"  
"Good," Julia said since she was eating her pancakes. "Can we do something after Mommy, Castle?"

"I think we should get the cards done," Beckett said. "That way you can spend the rest of the week not worrying about them."

"When do I give them?" Julia asked.

"Monday," Castle said. "What? You don't want to go back to school and see all your friends?" he asked at her pout.

"Yeah," Julia sighed.

"And you'll be able to go back to dance class as well," Jim pointed out to her.

"Sweetie, how would you like to go to class on Saturday and watch them practice?" Beckett asked, helping the little girl wipe syrup off her chin.

"Can I? But can't I dance?" Julia asked.

"I think your mom wants to wait for you to get completely better," Castle said. "And I agree with her, take this week off, and then next Saturday you can go back to practice."

"But you can practice what we see in the class until next Saturday," Beckett said.

"I hope I remember," Julia said, biting her lower lip slightly.

"You will, you have an amazing memory honey," Jim told her, smiling when she blushed and squirmed a little on her chair.

"Thank you Grandpapa," Julia said shyly. "Did Mommy and Castle tell you about the wedding?"

"Not yet," Jim said, looking at his daughter.

"We were planning it more in detail the other night, with her," Beckett said, nodding to Julia. "Just what she and Alexis are going to be doing and the cake; we told Julia about the flowers."

"And what is Julia going to be doing?" Jim asked. "You said she would hold the rings when you were telling me and Martha about the wedding last month."

"She'll be a combined flower girl and ring bearer," Castle said. "And Kate wants Alexis to be sort of her maid of honor."

"Sort of?" Jim questioned his daughter.

"In the sense that this is not going to be a regular wedding with a full wedding party, it's just going to be Julia and Alexis. And you Dad since you're giving me away," Beckett said, rolling her eyes.

"What?" Castle asked. "You know, you could say that moment in the ceremony is just him giving his final blessing to our marriage," he then quickly continued with as he realized she didn't like the idea of being given away. "That is a strange way of saying it, kind of ancient."

"Then it'll be a blessing on the wedding," Jim agreed. "Is that better?"

"Much," Beckett said in relief. She smiled as her dad gestured Julia to him, and he whispered into her ear before she nodded and giggled as she glanced at her and Castle. "Anything we should know about?"

"I don't think so," Jim said easily. "Finish your breakfast Julia." When the little girl had gone back to her chair he then asked, "Tell me what else you told her, I would like to know since I'll be there of course."

The rest of the meal was spent with Castle and Beckett filling in her dad about what they had planned for the wedding so far. When they had finished, Beckett cleaned up with her dad as Castle took Julia to her room so he could help her change.

"I'm going to ask you one last time Dad," Beckett said as she dried her hands once she'd finished with the dishes. "You're okay with all of this, Castle, him adopting Julia, him-"

"Marrying you, yes, for the last time Katie, I approve of him as your future husband and Julia's future father," Jim said, hugging her to stop her question. "And if you want to know what I honestly think, she would too."

Taking a deep breath Beckett nodded and said, "I always thought Mom would approve of Castle, that wasn't in question. It's him as Julia's father…"

"We've talked about that before of course, and you know your mother would adore Julia, as much as I do," Jim assured her, letting her go. "Actually, probably more than I do. And as for Castle as a father, she would agree with me, you made a great choice staying with him after you adopted Julia."

Nodding as her father's voice dropped to a whisper since they could hear Julia and Castle coming out from the bedrooms, Beckett hugged him quickly before she said, "Watch her for me?"

"Of course," Jim said, smiling as he watched her meet Julia at the door.

"You look great sweetie, and very happy," Beckett said, picking her daughter up and hugging her tightly to her.

"Castle told me a story about Kauai," Julia giggled as she looked back at him.

Beckett shared a quick kiss with her daughter before she set her down, telling her to show her grandfather her shirt. She then went into her bedroom, Castle following her and closing the door behind him so they could change. "I'm fine," she said quickly as she closed the door of her armoire after getting a top.

"I know, just wanted to make sure," Castle said, watching her. He was surprised when she suddenly threw something in his face, and he pulled off his shirt, seeing she'd gone to the dresser to grab his clothes. "Alright, I'm going," he said in mock irritation. He changed quickly and then sat down on the edge of the bed to watch her brush her hair.

"Did I not convince you?" Beckett asked as she looked at him in the mirror above her sink.

"No, you did, just wanted to take the time I could," Castle said simply.

"Nice incomplete sentence," Beckett said, walking to him. "You-" she began to say before he suddenly kissed her, and hard. She gave a muffled sound of surprise, but it soon slipped into a slight moan as he coaxed her tongue into his mouth. She held onto his neck tightly when he pulled her flush against him, and she tried to keep up with him before he seemed to wrench himself away.

"Sorry, just… got carried away," Castle said. "I can too easily forget that door's closed for a reason."

"I know, but are you okay to go?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, I'll follow," Castle said. He was surprised when she walked up to him, and pressed her hands on the back of his neck before he leaned down to kiss her. When they pulled apart he was last to open his eyes, smiling a little as he said, "Now that we're ready, should we take the chance to work with her on the cards?"

Beckett smiled at that, and kissed his lips quickly before they left the room, Castle whispering to her quickly before he went to Julia's room.

"Good, Katie, I'm going to head out and grab something for Julia," Jim said when he saw his daughter come out.

"Go," Beckett said with a smile. "We're fine for now, but if we get a call while you're out I'll let you know." She walked with him to the door and whispered into his ear before he left, not surprised when she turned around to find that Julia was standing at the doorway.

"What did you tell Grandpapa?" Julia asked in curiosity.

"You'll find out," Beckett promised. She then ushered the little girl to the table before Castle joined them with Julia's record player. They waited for her dad as they listened to music, helping their daughter write and decorate the thank you cards for her classmates.

* * *

"You're lucky," Jim said as his daughter opened the door to let him back inside twenty minutes later. "They had one bouquet ready of just one color."

"Thank you," Beckett said in relief.

"Are those for me?" Julia whispered, having hurried over to join them with Castle walking behind her.

"They are, from me and Castle," Beckett said, handing her the tulips that were red with some yellow at their base before giving her the blue and white irises her dad had gotten himself for the little girl.

"Thank you," Julia said. "And for your flowers too Grandpapa."

"Let me get these in water, and we'll arrange them so you can draw a picture of them," Castle said as he took them. He took Julia into the kitchen with him, and after they'd gotten the vases ready and he set it on the counter, he wasn't too surprised when Beckett's phone began to ring. "Good timing I guess," he commented.

"It's Esposito," Beckett said quickly. "Dad?"

"Come on Julia, let's get your crayons and paper ready so you can draw," Jim said, taking his granddaughter to her room.

"What do you have Espo?" Beckett asked.

"We talked to the guy in charge of the exhibit at the Met, and also the guy in charge of the Met himself. Asked them both why they couldn't recognize those paintings and they said it was because the medium makes it look very different," the detective said on the other end. "But we got their alibis and I finished checking them out before I called you, and they're all solid alibis. So they're not our guys."

"What about anyone who's been around the pictures excessively?" Beckett asked.

"Well, they had the exhibit ready for the past five days," Esposito explained. "And they let special members come in to view them exclusively. That's what Ryan's doing right now; looking at the footage of the exhibit from the beginning. And before that, no one with the Met setting things up set off any red flags. But we still have a list of those that worked on it and other employees at the museum, and if we need to we'll go ahead and take a look at them."

"Okay, so do you need us there at all?" Beckett asked, knowing it was likely the list of workers was pretty long.

"Not at the moment, but I wanted to fill you in on what's going on," Esposito said. "Better call Castle."

"If he's even awake," Beckett muttered, glancing at her fiancée out of the corner of her eye. "Do you have a list of those people with the special membership?" she then asked, smiling as Castle made a face at her.

"Ryan does," Esposito said simply.

"I would start taking a look at the workers that helped set up the exhibit," Beckett told him. "Leave the other employees of the museum as a last resort, but if he's trying to keep anyone from finding him, he might have turned off the cameras or fixed them so it would hold to one image."

"So you're leaning more towards an inside job," Esposito stated.

"Half of me is," Beckett replied as she glanced at Castle and saw his doubtful expression. "And I think with that footage, Ryan's unlikely going to find those three other men we found."

"They're just decoys, yeah, we're in agreement on that. Castle too if you get a hold of him I'm sure will say the same," Esposito said.

"I will call him, just let me finish up with you," Beckett said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, I'll get on it right now, but it'll take time, probably for us both," Esposito warned. "But if we get something, we'll let you know."

"Thanks Espo," Beckett said before hanging up. She looked at Castle and said, "They still need to look into those workers."

"I know, I just get the feeling you're more likely to find an artist from the members who have that special pass," Castle said. He was about to say more, but then stopped, turning as Julia and Jim walked out.

"Do you need to go?" Beckett's dad asked, seeing the expressions on his daughter's face and Castle's.

"No, we're okay for now," Beckett said.

"You should go Mommy, Castle," Julia said, to their surprise. When all three adults looked at her she smiled a little and said, "Grandpapa is here, and you should go so you can finish and then come back." She looked a little concerned as she asked them, "You will come back?"

"Of course sweetie," Beckett assured her, kneeling in front of her. "We don't want to leave you though."

"I know," Julia said, nodding her head. "I don't want you to go, but you have to help Uncle Kevin and _Tio_ Javi."

Smiling at the names the two men had finally been able to get the little girl to call them; Castle took Julia's hand, taking her and Beckett to the couch. "You're very unselfish," he told their daughter seriously. "Which is a very good thing believe me," he continued with as he could see she looked a little confused at the word.

"I want you to come home fast," Julia said simply.

"And we'll try, we promise," Beckett said, sitting next to her fiancé and gathering their daughter in her arms. "I'll call though, to see how you're doing," she promised, cupping Julia's face in her hands. "And let your grandpapa know when we're coming home."

"Is Castle going to be there when you call?" Julia asked.

"If I can I will be," he replied, watching as the two shared a kiss. He then hugged Julia when Beckett let her go and gave her a kiss; which she returned; before saying, "But like she said, we definitely promise to do our best to wrap up the case and come back to you."

"Thank you," Julia said as she watched them get up to leave.

"I'll call you around lunch Dad," Beckett said a few minutes later. "We love you sweetie," she directed to Julia

"She's right, we do," Castle told her next. "Have fun with those cards."

"We're gonna take pictures with my box camera, of the flowers," Julia corrected.

"Then I can't wait to see them," Castle said as he and Beckett headed out into the hall.

"See you Julia, Dad," Beckett called before they went to elevators. "This better be the last time we do this."

"It will," Castle said reassuringly as she pressed the button for the elevator, watching her as she looked at the numbers of floors the car was passing through.

* * *

"Beckett?" Ryan asked, Esposito turning to look towards the doorway to see her there.

"What are you doing here?" Esposito asked as she stepped into the room.

"I'm here to help," Beckett said before she paused and looked over her shoulder. "Apparently he is too," she said, gesturing to Castle who was walking in behind her.

"I thought you could use some coffee while you're looking through endless security camera footage," he said, handing her a cup of coffee he'd stopped for to delay his arrival to the Precinct. "And you know…"

"Procrastinating on your book again?" Ryan asked as he handed Beckett the remote. "I only got about two hours done; I was watching the set up in detail. Just to make sure."

"Anything there?" she asked, sitting down in front of the TV.

"Not much," Ryan replied. "How's Julia?"

"Better, but still, I'd like to finish this so I can go home," Beckett replied.

"You know you're only the consultant, you don't need to stay," Esposito pointed out to her.

"Not really, I walk in here with my badge, I'm still a detective," Beckett replied, playing the footage that Ryan had paused as she'd walked in. "Go, take care of the lists and I'll-"

"We'll," Castle cut in.

Shooting him a glare that was more for effect, Beckett continued saying, "I guess we're looking at the footage." When they were alone she said, "The fact they didn't push me too hard to go back home means they wanted to leave us with this," as a warning to him, in case he wanted to go back to her place to spend a little time with Julia.

"It's what the coffee's for," Castle said, sitting in the chair next to her as he sipped from his cup.

Giving him a slight nod, Beckett turned her full attention to the footage, seeing that it was the end of the installation of the exhibit. "There are the pictures," she said, seeing the colors that she had memorized once she'd seen them on the site for the museum.

"Never seen them on display before," Castle commented as there wasn't really much besides employees. "Didn't realize they were that tall."

Beckett didn't reply, knowing he was just breaking the silence, and she pressed the fast forward button as she knew they weren't likely going to see anyone. She proved herself right, as the light soon went to night, and she sped up a little more until the next day. "So this should be the first day those with the membership could see them," she commented as she got to the time the museum had opened that day.

"I would look at the people that sit down," Castle commented as she pressed play. "And after that, those with art supplies. If I were the killer, I would take the opportunity to sketch out the pictures, because a photograph or looking at it on your phone would not be the same as you studying every detail up close or absorbing the colors." He noticed out of the corner of his eye Beckett looking at him and he quickly said, "If I was the killer, and could draw anything. It's why I take pictures," saying the last in a low tone of voice as he glanced to the doorway though they were alone.

Again not replying, Beckett turned her attention to the screen, seeing a young man sitting down on a bench that was positioned before the four lithographs. "We have an artist and the second person there too," she said as the man took out a large sketchbook. She paused it and tried zooming in, but all she could see were pixels and she shook her head as she continued saying, "He's got a pretty thin charcoal pencil."

"Extremely thin, the camera's not that high above him and you can't even see his lines," Castle agreed as they watched the man's arm make a long, sweeping gesture. "That thin he's got to have multiple pencils, and maybe a sharpener. So if he's drawing all four of them-"

"It'll take him time," Beckett said with a nod before she realized something. "Can you focus on him for me while I take a look at any other men?"

"Got it," Castle said. He watched the man sketching, and only pausing to look back up at the pictures. "He's doing it in detail," he commented to his fiancée.

"Which would make sense," Beckett said. "Though, spring is standing up and he had her lying in a bed," she pointed out.

"Most likely he didn't want to have to take the time to pose her," Castle said. "If rigor mortis had set in…"

"True, but with the other two vics, he took the time to make sure they were posed," Beckett said.

"He might do the same with winter as he did with spring," Castle said. "On a bed, since she's pretty much standing."

"She is," Beckett replied with a nod. "And you're right; he'll likely pose her on a bed, but… I don't think it's because of how she is in the picture."

"Yeah, I got that too," Castle said. "Do you think he's found her yet?"

"I really don't know," Beckett said, remembering what the letter the day before had said. "He could be throwing us off, buying him some extra time to set up for this last victim. But, we will find him, we'll need to see who this guy is, it's been about an hour and he's still there."

"Fast forward? He's still the only guy in the room," Castle said. He watched as she did so, and kept it on that speed as there were barely any people inside the exhibit except for the man. When someone else entered, they saw another man, walking up to the pictures the artist was sketching.

"They're arguing," Beckett said quickly as the artist suddenly stood after he and the other man exchanged words. She paused right when the artist's face was visible on the screen and hurriedly set it to print before she played the footage. The second man soon calmed the artist down, and she frowned when the artist handed over a piece of paper from his sketchbook. "What is he doing…" she said, watching the other man, get a pencil from his pocket and making a rubbing of the plaque next to the four pictures.

"I don't know, but look at the artist," Castle said.

Turning her attention to it, Beckett nodded when she saw the man was stroking the page on the sketchbook, and said, "Okay, we have a suspect; we need to find out who exactly he is."

* * *

"His name is Tobias Bradley, and he's an artist at NYU," Ryan said, walking up to the others at Beckett's desk.

"NYU, was he in any of the same classes as our first vic?" Beckett asked, taking the file he handed her.

"He was in two of them," Ryan replied. "And he also knew our second vic, which I found out because of this…"

Beckett looked on as he typed something on the computer on the desk across from hers, and she walked around to see that it was a photograph of Bradley and their second vic with a few other people. "A party?" she asked.

"At the museum, for the people with the higher membership, the one that let this guy into that exhibit early," Ryan explained.

"And the third vic?" Castle asked.

"I can explain that, looking back at the list of volunteers we got for the homeless shelter she resided at from time to time, Bradley's name is there," Esposito said.

"And I can tell you why he was there, a DUI about ten months ago, three months after he was sentenced to one hundred days community service and AA. He volunteered at the shelter for about twenty of those days before he left," Ryan then said.

"Any way to confirm that he was there at the same time the third vic was?" Beckett asked.

"They keep a log of who's there," Esposito said. "And she's there, about ten days of the twenty he was working there."

"Alright," Beckett said. "I think we should go pick him up."

"You don't want us to do that?" Ryan asked.

"Since I'm not on duty technically," Beckett said. "I can't take my car out. So we'll have to hitch a ride with you guys."

"Good enough for me," Esposito said. "Though you realize you don't really need to go," he told her as they walked to the elevator.

"Better Castle and I talk to him," Beckett said simply. "Also, I'd like to get a look inside his place, see if he's got other works of art he's taking from Mucha."

"Which you would know better since you know his work," Ryan said.

"And Castle too apparently," Beckett said, gesturing with her thumb over her shoulder at him.

"Look at his work," Castle said as the two looked at him. "You'll understand why."

Beckett shook her head as Esposito went onto his phone in a rush saying, "He's not that kind of artist," before rolling her eyes at Castle as the doors closed in front of them.

* * *

"Can I help you?" the young man said as he opened his door as far as the chain at the top would let him.

"Are you Tobias Bradley?" Beckett asked. When the man nodded she smiled slightly to somewhat gain his trust and said, "I'm Detective Beckett, this is Mr. Castle, I'm wondering if we could talk to you about something?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," Bradley said, closing the door to open the chain.

"You're a member at the Met aren't you?" Beckett asked as they walked inside.

"I am, what does that have to do with why you're here?" Bradley asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Then do you know this woman at all?" Beckett said as she showed him the picture of the second vic.

"Oh yeah, that's Francis… Francis Kelly, wait, she was murdered yesterday," Bradley said in realization. "Do you think I had something to do with that?"

"And do you know who this is?" Castle asked as he was holding the picture of the first vic.

"I… Ophelia… I forgot her last name, she was my art history class and Chem lab a while ago," Bradley said. "And she was murdered too, but-"

"Then this woman you know too," Beckett said, holding out the last picture.

"Um, she looks familiar, but I'm not sure," Bradley said, sounding flustered. "But… she was in the paper; she's the other woman who was murdered. Look-"

"Looks like you're a pretty good artist," Castle commented as he was looking at one wall of the living room where there were sketches and miniature paintings.

"I'm okay I guess, I don't-" Bradley said.

"Do you often go to the Met to sketch the artwork?" Beckett asked, interrupting him.

"A lot, I like to recreate the pictures myself and then come back to paint them," Bradley said. "But, don't touch that please," he said tersely as Castle was nearing a sketchbook that was against the wall.

"I wasn't, but this must be pretty important to you," Castle said as he glanced at Beckett.

"Mr. Bradley, I'm wondering if you'd mind coming into my station with my partner and I, we have a few questions that would be better asked there," she said to the man who had visibly tensed. Before she could say anything else, Bradley took off, running through his still open door.

"You figure they really believe they'll get away?" Castle asked as he and Beckett walked together to the doorway.

"I think so, but of course it doesn't always work," she answered as they stepped into the hallway to find Bradley on the floor being handcuffed by Esposito. "I told you he'd bolt," she said.

"I'll owe you a drink at The Old Haunt when this is over," the detective said as he hauled Bradley to his feet. "Mind sitting in the back with this guy?" he directed to Castle as Ryan was on the phone, getting hold of CSU to search the apartment.

"I couldn't call shotgun? No, I guess not," Castle started to say before he looked at his fiancée and saw the expression on her face. "Let's go."

Following Esposito to the elevator, Beckett paused to speak quickly with Ryan, telling him, "Look out for anything pointing to a fourth victim, and four apartments he might have used as a cover as well as anything suspicious with his art." She walked with Castle then, and said, "Let's hope this is it and this is finally over," as he gave a nod in response, his expression reflecting the solemnity her own had as they were both trying to be optimistic that Bradley was the break in the case they needed.


	10. Drink From His Special Cup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Doctor Robert by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles album Revolver.

Looking up as the door to the room opened, Bradley said in irritation, "You've kept me here for almost three hours. There's nothing you're going to find that links me to these weird murders that are going on."

"Actually, you're forgetting about your connection with the three victims," Castle said as he leaned against the window as Beckett sat across from the man. "We're just trying to find concrete evidence to give the prosecutor a case."

"Wait, you're going to arrest me even though all you have is my knowing these three women?" Bradley asked, looking at Beckett as he spoke.

"We have," Beckett began, ignoring his question. "A letter from the killer, there's a fingerprint on that paper, and it's yours."

"You…" Bradley started to say before stopping.

"We also know that paper is from your sketchbook that was found in your apartment, with sketches of all four of Mucha's drawings," Beckett continued. "And we also have security camera footage of you making those sketches. You went for three days in a row when the exhibit was opened to those special members of the museum. Were you getting everything ready for the murders?"

"No! Look, if you're talking about a piece of paper I… I think that's the one I gave this guy who was at the exhibit too," Bradley said, sounding a little frantic then. "If you have footage of me, then you must have seen the guy, we got into an argument because he was blocking my view of the seasons series."

"Why did he ask you for paper then?" Castle asked.

"He said his girlfriend was blind and he wanted to make rubbings of the plaques with that since there's Braille on them. But… he had to have used it for that letter you're talking about," Bradley insisted.

"Actually, we thought of that, and he went through the museum with that paper, doing the rubbings with a lot of the plaques. So I'm afraid the page you were talking about is from your notebook," Beckett said.

"And two pages were ripped out of your sketchbook, so you had the opportunity to use that other piece of paper for the letter you sent us," Castle said.

"Why kill them? For your great masterpiece?" Beckett asked, leaning across the table. "You are a fan of Alphonse Mucha, there were a lot of copies of his works framed and hung on the walls in your apartment. Were you trying to pay homage to him with these women you wanted but thought you'd never be able to have?"

"You're out of your mind, you both are," Bradley said, shaking his head. "I would never do that to a woman; never desecrate the man's artwork. I love his pieces, not hate them enough to use murder to tarnish them."

"Bradley-" Beckett started to say as the man had ended up yelling the last few words.

"I want a lawyer," Bradley said quickly.

Beckett wasn't surprised to hear that, so she merely nodded, and stood, going to the door with Castle. Stepping outside as LT went in, she waited for Ryan and Esposito to come out of observation. "Did you check out the alibis Castle managed to get from him?"

"We did, and while his building has a camera in the lobby, there aren't any on the hallways, or to leave via the basement," Esposito answered.

"It's an older building," Ryan said. "Plus few people really use that way out."

"Except for him," Esposito said. "And we called a couple more friends while you two were waiting for Bradley to go inside here. They're all saying the same thing. He broke up with his girlfriend about six months ago, and he took it pretty badly."

"They also haven't really seen him that much lately, he's been claiming to work on his masterpiece," Ryan said.

"Does anyone know what that is?" Beckett asked.

"No idea, and I couldn't find anything that pointed to it in his apartment," Ryan replied. "And CSU was all over the place to try and find anything suspicious, the only thing there is is that sketchbook."

"Not much to make a case against him," Castle said.

Sharing a look with her fiancé, Beckett nodded and said, "We don't really think it's him now we're hearing more about him."

"I don't know, he seems to fit the profile, and he loves this artist, you saw the walls of all the rooms, covered in this guy's art," Esposito said.

"And he's missing an alibi for each murder," Ryan said.

"Okay, why don't one of you take the picture from the security footage at the homeless shelter and the picture of our suspect, and ask the witness from the shelter-" Beckett started to say as they went to her desk.

"Already did that," Esposito said.

"And?" Castle asked as Ryan was riffling through some papers he held.

"He said Bradley wasn't the guy at the shelter," Ryan said simply. "But he was pretty sure the guy that picked up our third vic the first time was in some kind of disguise, the line of his jaw had a crack in it, so he thought it was makeup."

"Did you ever ask the height of the man he saw at the shelter?" Beckett asked.

"He couldn't really say, just guessed around five eight and six feet," Esposito answered. "So that fits Bradley."

"Unless it was the decoy that went," Castle said.

"I don't think so actually," Beckett said. "I think it really was the killer, but as the witness said, in disguise."

"So what's the next move?" Ryan asked as he and Esposito looked at Beckett.

"We need to talk to his lawyer," she replied. "And try and see if he'll confess, without that… the case is largely circumstantial."

"There's a lot leaning towards him being the killer," Esposito said. "Found acrylic paint at his place, I can talk to the FBI and see if it's possible to identify paint specifically."

"Any word on the threads?" Beckett asked.

"We didn't find anything grey and silk at his apartment," Ryan said. "But the FBI report should be right there, thank you Thomas," he said to the officer. "Okay it's… pretty standard, a lower quality," he began to read before Beckett held her hand out for the file.

"Then it's a handkerchief," she read off the end of the page after scanning the rest of the report. "Which makes sense if it's used to clean the bodies, and also to use with chloroform. But this says the company that makes the grey handkerchief has a mill in China and they sell them at a number of stores in the tri-state area."

"So a dead end?" Castle said.

"Pretty much. You didn't find anything at all about other apartments?" Beckett asked Ryan.

"CSU went through the papers he had, all were about the apartment itself," he said with a shrug.

"And we checked financials waiting for the fingerprint match," Esposito reminded her. "Nothing that would suggest he's paying for another couple places. And the landlord and the first two vics' buildings said they were paid via check or card by everyone; he wouldn't take cash."

"And he got paid," Ryan said. "So it's likely he opened accounts under the names used to put the down payments on the other two apartments."

"I get it guys," Beckett said finally. "It has to be Bradley, from what the evidence is saying."

"I still have my doubts on him," Castle said. "But I'll agree."

"So we need to start gathering everything to prepare for the prosecutor," Beckett said. "And someone needs to tell Gates about the arrest."

"I'll go," Esposito volunteered.

"I can get the arrest warrant," Ryan said.

"Then I'm guessing you want me to talk with his lawyer," Beckett said. When the two men didn't say anything she nodded and watched them leave. "This doesn't seem concrete enough to me."

"I know, a little surprised the boys are so sure," Castle said. "But you know part of what hinges on this guy's guilt or innocence?"

"The paint for starters," Beckett said. "But I can't imagine it being possible to ID the exact paint down to one tube of acrylic. They have to mass produce each color."

"I know, once his lawyer sees that, he'll have a place to start up reasonable doubt," Castle said.

"Beckett?" LT said from interrogation.

Standing up, Beckett walked over to the man standing next to the officer, leading the lawyer into observation. "Has he offered a plea bargain?"

"No, in fact, he's planning on pleading not guilty if you're foolish enough to arrest him," the lawyer said. "A charge of murder-"

"Three murders and assaults," Beckett said.

"Yes, well, are you even sure my client paints the same as the paintings you apparently found?" the lawyer asked.

"His style of sketching matches ones we found at the crime scenes," Beckett said simply, since it was true.

Studying Beckett for a moment, the lawyer nodded and said, "Then I think we're finished here if I can't get you to see how pointless it would be to charge him."

Sighing once the man had left, Beckett looked up at Castle as he walked in the doorway and shook her head before they turned to the window to see Esposito and Ryan were inside the room, putting handcuffs back onto Bradley.

* * *

"So we've got paperwork," Ryan was saying as he walked into the break room as Beckett was hanging up her phone. "Calling Julia again?" he asked.

"My dad called me, I think he wants me to go home," she replied with a smile. "Though I'm sure Julia wants me to as well. What were you saying?"

"The FBI agreed with you guys about the paint," Ryan said. "It's impossible to trace besides the stores it was sold to, Javi's starting to look into that now. And I just looked at his cell phone records."

"And?" Castle asked, since he was sitting at the table.

"Phone was turned off at the times of each murder," Ryan said. "And I know," he said quickly when Castle and Beckett started to speak at the same time. "He could have done that to paint or… for some other reason, but…"

"It could have been to commit the murders," Beckett said, Ryan nodding at that. "So you need me to do some of the paperwork?"

"Gates wants me and Espo to take point the rest of the case, since it's mostly desk work anyways," Ryan said. "You can go home to your daughter and you… can go home to your book," he finished as he was looking at Castle.

"Great idea," Castle said in response. "If anything comes up though, let me know."

"I probably will," Beckett said, shaking her head as she stood. "But that goes the same for me, if you find anything that makes it look like he's innocent-"

"We'll let you know," Ryan said. He wasn't surprised when Beckett went to his desk, and he quickly got the papers he needed her to sign before she could go. "Say hi to Julia for me."

"For me too," Esposito said, covering the mouthpiece of his phone. He nodded to Beckett's absent wave and turned back to his desk.

Leaving the station after saying goodbye to Ryan, Beckett took out her phone as she went to the stairs, wanting the distraction of the exercise that would provide. She didn't see any texts from Castle there, and frowned slightly, wondering where he was. She turned the corner at the bottom floor, not surprised when she ran straight into her fiancé. "You waited here?" she asked.

"I did," Castle said. "There's a cab down the street for you."

"And you?" Beckett asked.

"I'll meet you there," Castle said simply before he left through the lobby.

Shaking her head, Beckett waited as long as she could before leaving herself, nodding to a few officers and detectives from other floors that she knew. When she got outside, it was hard to miss the taxi Castle had been talking about, and she got in, telling the man her address. As the car pulled into the street she texted her fiancé, asking him where he was, starting a conversation they would continue until she got to her building.

After trying to pay the driver; who told her Castle had done so already; Beckett went to grab her mail, pausing to talk with Mrs. Parker who was leaving. She then went up to her apartment, and unlocking the door, smiled when Julia's head shot up before she ran from the coffee table to her.

"Mommy! You didn't say you were coming," Julia said happily as her mother knelt to hug her tightly as she did the same.

"I know, I wanted to surprise you," Beckett said, kissing her cheek.

"Where's Castle?" Julia then asked.

"I don't know, he wouldn't say where he was going when he left the station," Beckett said, standing up and taking off her jacket. "I think it's a surprise for us to tell you the truth."

"More than likely," Jim said before he watched Julia hurry to the coffee table to finish the picture she'd been coloring for her mother and Castle. "Are you finished with the case?" he asked his daughter in a low whisper.

"We have a viable suspect," Beckett said simply. She shrugged when her father looked at her questioningly and said, "How was she?"

"We took a little walk," Jim said. He smiled when Beckett looked at him and said, "Just to the other side of the building on this floor, she's been cooped up for a little too long Katie."

Sighing, Beckett nodded saying, "I know, but she's doing really well, so I'll thank you for doing that. She didn't run did she?"

"I made sure she stayed with me and we walked," Jim said.

"Grandpapa let me see outside," Julia said happily as she went over to them, holding out a piece of paper to her mother.

"Thank you sweetie," Beckett said before she heard the door being unlocked. "Looks like you can show him too."

"Are we leaving?" Castle asked as he came inside to find everyone was at the entry doorway.

"No, I just got here, wherever you went it must not have been too far from here," Beckett commented. "I thought you were heading to your place." She was a little surprised at his expression then and smiled saying, "You forgot?"

"I actually did, but that's okay, I can go later," Castle said. "No, I went to order dinner for us. And you too Jim, I thought you'd want to stay."

"I would, thank you for that," Beckett's father replied.

"What's for dinner?" Julia asked.

"Well, it's only three thirty," Castle said, looking at his watch. "I told them to deliver at six, so we'll need to wait and see."

"But you know already," Julia said. "That's not fair."

"I know, but you'll like the meal, I promise," Castle assured her as he set his jacket on the chair in the entry.

Beckett smiled as she watched the two walk into the apartment more and turned to her dad. "So she was fine," she asked him.

"She was, she did miss you again, but that can't be too unexpected," Jim replied. "And I hope you'll take her outside this Saturday instead of waiting for Sunday. She was begging me to go out to the park down the street."

Nodding Beckett walked into the apartment herself and said, "We will, but only for her class. I might be a little overprotective of her right now, but I've never had to deal with this kind of emergency before."

"It's never easy," Jim assured her. "But I think you're doing a great job."

"I'll agree with him," Castle said. "Wine?" he asked his fiancée.

"No, I think we should all have some juice," Beckett said, since their daughter had walked over to them then. "And relax now that we're all here. Sound good?"

Julia nodded eagerly as the others were looking at her at that question, and she watched Beckett getting the cups ready before her grandfather poured the apple juice into them. "It's funny you drink that too," she commented as she took her cup first.

"Just because you're an adult doesn't mean you stop drinking juice. It helps to relax," Castle said, saying the last sentence in a high whisper, making Julia laugh as she leaned against him.

"She's obviously getting better," Beckett commented to her dad. "Did you give her the medicine after lunch?"

"I did, and there's only enough for maybe two more doses," Jim told her as they followed Castle and Julia over to the couch.

"Mommy, Castle, I finished my cards," Julia whispered once they were sitting. "Grandpapa helped me after I took pictures."

"How did that go?" Castle asked as he set her down off his lap when she handed him her glass.

"Fun, but that was a lot to color," Julia said.

"Did you make the cards for Mrs. Clayton and Miss Amber?" Beckett asked her.

"Yeah, I colored those very nice 'cause their cards were nice to me," Julia said as her mother set her on her lap. She cuddled close to her and asked, "Are you gonna go back to work?"  
"No, we're all finished," Castle said. "And remember, we're not going to go back for another case, so we'll be with you all day tomorrow and Friday."

"And Saturday and Sunday too," Julia said happily. She then paused and looked up at her mother asking, "Do you want to stay Mommy?"

"I do," Beckett assured her. "I really shouldn't have worked anyways, but your uncles asked, so we went."

"Oh, so I should have worked," Castle joked as he took their empty glasses.

"That was always up to you," Beckett said, shaking her head as he went to the kitchen. "Where are you going sweetie?" she asked, watching Julia skip to her room.

"You said we are going to the museum," the little girl said once she had returned, her tablet in her arms.

"We are, why?" Beckett asked as Castle sat back down next to her. She gave him a look as he slid right up next to her before Julia could climb up in between them, but then turned to their daughter when she giggled.

"I have to sit on your lap," Julia said with a smile as she let him pick her up.

"So what is it about the museum?" Castle asked once she was set on his lap.

"I wanna see the paintings," Julia said firmly.

"You wouldn't want to be surprised?" Beckett suggested.

"The new ones," Julia said. "Please?"

"I think we should," Castle said, watching his fiancée as they shared a glance.

"We should," Beckett said, taking the tablet. She went to the site for the museum, and said, "We were talking about taking you to see this exhibit they have."

"Oh, those are pretty," Julia breathed as she saw the two examples from the exhibit on the page. "Who it the artist?"

"Alphonse Mucha," Beckett said, glancing at her dad. She leaned over to him and whispered, "There's no way for her to know the connection to our case," before she raised her voice and continued, "Plus we thought Julia might end up liking his work too."

"Like you and your mother," Jim said with a slight nod.

"And me as well," Castle said. Julia had started to pull on his shirt so he asked, "What's wrong sweetheart?"

"Can I see all the things he painted?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Sure," Castle said, looking at Beckett who nodded. He went to another site, and said, "This is for his foundation; they send the paintings and pictures around the world to museums so people can see his works. Oh, we'll need your printer Kate."

"Why?" Beckett asked, leaning over on Castle to see the tablet.

"There are some pictures you can print and color," he replied. "I'm pretty sure Julia's going to want to do that."

Beckett smiled as Julia nodded her head up and down eagerly and kissed her cheek to her soft giggle. She then whispered something into Castle's ear, and shrugged when he looked at her with wide eyes.

Pausing for a moment, Castle finally moved, and he held the tablet closer to him before he put his arms back around Julia saying, "These are going to be at the museum," as he glanced at his fiancée, waiting for their daughter's reaction to the four seasons pictures.

"That's pretty," Julia said. "And we get to see them?"

"We will, you can take pictures if you want to," Castle said. "But this'll be there too," he said, opening another drawing, suddenly not wanting to remember the three victims while they were with their daughter.

Beckett squeezed Castle's arm as she could guess what he was thinking with the way he'd nearly jabbed his finger into the screen of the tablet. She murmured something into his ear before he shook his head and she leaned against him again as they watched Julia explore the different posters on the page to her delight at each new one she saw.

* * *

"So you were surprised right?" Castle asked as he walked over to Beckett with the last of the plates from the table.

"I think we all were, though in a way I wasn't so much," she said with a smile as she let him take over at the sink.

"And why not so much?" Castle asked.

"Mainly because I know you have a kind of Irish fetish," Beckett said.

His head turning quickly to his fiancée, Castle could see that she was joking and he nodded saying, "Not so much a fetish of course, just an interest. And one which she shares."

"She does," Beckett said with a nod, looking over at Julia who was practicing basic steps from her dance class as her father watched. "But thank you for going out of the way to order it."

"You're very welcome," Castle said as he finished with the dishes and took the towel she'd used from her hands. "You know," he began. "Since we're finished, tomorrow we don't necessarily need to get up early."

"True," Beckett said simply, wondering what he was thinking.

"I just thought, we could let Julia stay up a little later tonight and-" Castle started to say when Beckett took the dish towel from him and threw it in his face. "It was worth a shot," he said as she was leaving.

"I think I'm going to head back home," Jim said to his daughter as he stood.

"Do you need to?" Julia asked, hurrying to him and grabbing his hand.

"I think so, I have to go back to work tomorrow, unlike your mom and Castle," Jim said, picking her up and carrying her to the door.

"Okay, but will I see you? Before Sunday?" Julia asked.

"You will, I'll stop by tomorrow or Friday, and see if you're still getting better," Jim promised before they exchanged a kiss and he hugged her tightly.

"Thank you again Dad, for watching her," Beckett said, hugging her dad after he had on his jacket.

"It wasn't a problem," Jim assured her. He hugged her before he said goodnight to the three and then left down the hall as they watched him.

"Now what?" Julia asked softly. "Dessert?" she asked, hiding her face with Castle's hand which she was holding.

"Up to your mom," he said simply.

"Yes, we can have dessert," Beckett said, shaking her head though she was smiling. "Actually, I'm interested in finding out what's in the box, since it's Irish. It's not made with liquor is it?"

"I asked what they had that didn't have that as an ingredient, got this," Castle said, leading them to the kitchen and opening the pink box the delivery man had brought. "Apple amber, which I never heard of, and I've been to Ireland."

"Did you have much dessert?" Beckett asked as she picked up Julia who was trying to see what they were looking at.

"No, and that actually would explain it," Castle said, cutting what looked a little like an apple pie. "That's for you," he said, setting a slice on a plate. "And what will we be doing while we eat these?" he directed to his fiancée.

"Mommy, the movie!" Julia whispered, tugging at her mother's sweater.

"I guess we're watching that," Beckett said. She and Castle followed Julia to the couch, taking the plate the little girl was holding as he grabbed the remote. They watched the movie as they ate their dessert, and as soon as she saw Julia was done she pulled their daughter to her, cuddling her close until it was over.

"Don't say I have to go to bed," Julia said in dismay as her mother picked her up.

"Sorry sweetie, we let you stay up a little longer tonight though," Beckett said simply, carrying her into her room.

Sighing, Julia looked over her mother's shoulder and started to open her mouth when Castle spoke before she could.

"Sorry Julia, your mom says it's time for bed there's not a lot I can do," he told her.

"But you could say it's not time, you can say too," Julia protested.

"I don't think so, and she is right," Castle said. "Sorry, but she is," he said as the little girl pouted. "Do you want me to stay or should I wait?" he said as Beckett began to fill the tub.

"You can stay," Julia said quickly. She let her mother help her out of her clothes then as Castle took over at the tub, and said, "What do we do tomorrow Mommy?"

"We'll talk about it and see," Beckett said simply. She kissed Julia on the cheek before helping her into the water, and she knelt next to the tub to take over the little girl's bath.

"No playing today?" Castle asked a while later when Beckett finished cleaning Julia with soap and had her stand up again to get out.

"Tomorrow," Beckett said simply as she wrapped Julia up in a towel and lifted her out. She let Castle take over as she went to get their daughter's pajamas hurrying to Julia's room.

"So I'm thinking tomorrow we'll do the same thing you did with your grandfather," Castle was saying as he and Julia were waiting for her pajamas.

"Can we? Why can't I go outside?" the little girl asked with a sigh. "I'm tired to be inside."

"I know sweetie, but Saturday we're going to your class remember, so we'll be outside then," Beckett said as she walked inside and got her dressed.

"Are you going to let her play Sunday when we head to the park?" Castle asked.

"I will," Beckett said with a slight smile as he carried their daughter to her room as she followed. "I get the feeling she'll need to run around after the museum."

"But I like the museum Mommy," Julia said as Castle set her on her bed.

"I know you do, but you're going to need to be very quiet and not run around there, so we'll let you stretch your legs at the park," Beckett said.

"Thank you," Julia said before she wrapped her arms around Castle's neck.

"Sweet dreams Julia," he said as he hugged her back. "I-"

"You have to leave?" Julia asked, a little fretfully.

"I'll come back remember," Castle said, as they'd talked about that during dinner. "We have a little walk planned, but nothing else so I have to make sure you get to do something fun."

Pushing on his shoulder carefully Beckett said, "And who says I wouldn't do something fun with her?"

"I can stay at my home tonight if-" Castle started to say.

"No! Mommy, let him come back," Julia said worriedly.

"I'm joking sweetie, he better come back," Beckett said.

"Yeah, I will," Castle said, a little startled at the slight change in her tone before he turned to Julia. "I promise to come back. And I'll come in to see you, even if you're asleep when I do. But for now, good night and I love you sweetheart."

Nodding, Julia shared a kiss with him before he let her go, and she held her arms out to her mother before wrapping them around her neck. "I love you Mommy," she said, snuggling close to her.

"I love you Julia," Beckett said as she laid her down on the bed. "Sweet dreams and we'll see you tomorrow morning okay?"

"Kay, night," Julia said, letting her mother tuck her in. She waved to Castle before she yawned widely, and held her Stitch doll close.

After closing the lights and door, Beckett followed her fiancé out to the living room and after the door to the bedrooms was closed said, "Do you want to look over the case again?"

"I knew you'd want to," Castle said, smiling slightly. "Actually, I would, but I think I should head to my place for supplies before I forget."

"Supplies," Beckett said, shaking her head. "Then go, but I'll start actually."

"I don't blame you, I bet I'd do the same if this was my place," Castle said as they walked to the entry. "But you know, what's going to make or break this case is the DNA results."

"I know, but that'll take time, probably more time than Ryan and Espo have to formally arrest him," Beckett said.

"Yeah," Castle said, frowning as he remembered the phone call. It had been just before they'd eaten, Esposito calling Beckett to let her know they had gotten some hair from a brush at Bradley's apartment, and had begun DNA testing to match it with the two semen samples. She had convinced Esposito to keep Bradley in lockup, uncharged, for the full 24 hour period, so they wouldn't end up arresting the wrong man. He hadn't been surprised when the detective had reminded Beckett again about what they had against him, but luckily she'd been adamant and he had pulled some strings to get the samples all tested much faster than they normally would be. "But they should have everything set tomorrow afternoon, so we'll see. Though you know… if it turns out it's not him…"

"I'm tempted to just let the boys handle it if that's the case," Beckett said.

"I know, and I'll stay if you want me to," Castle said.

"You wouldn't want to wrap everything up?" Beckett asked.

"Not particularly," Castle replied. "Because if Bradley isn't our guy… we're going to have another victim, winter. And you know the description of the lithograph at the site I was looking at with Julia said that the woman in it is keeping the bird in her hands warm. So I'd guess the killer saw that description too."

Beckett nodded at that and then said, "I'll look at the case as if we have no suspect, and honestly I don't think we do, so that might help."

"I hope so, because I wouldn't want to be up all night working on this," Castle told her. "Especially after your hint to me."

"What hint?" Beckett asked. She was surprised when he; instead of protesting her feigned innocence; wrapped his arms around her and proceeded to kiss her neck. She bit her lower lip to tamp down the moan that rose from her throat, and she closed her eyes tightly as his lips then ghosted up to hers.

"That hint, and I'm glad you did that because I'm not kidding about us sleeping in tomorrow," Castle reminded her. He kissed her before she could reply, and felt her arms tighten around his neck as he deepened it quickly.

When he pulled away from her, Beckett didn't let him get too far before she followed him, their lips crushing together that time. She shuddered in pleasure as his tongue slipped past her lips at her direction, and she had to end the kiss a little forcibly as she knew once they began, they'd find it more and more difficult to stop. But they managed to stay apart, leaning their foreheads together before he was suddenly tilting his head, nuzzling at her neck again. "You're acting like we haven't been together for days," she told him when he pulled back to look at her.

"Well… that I can't really help," Castle said. "But I don't hear any protest from you, so I'm guessing you're okay with it?"

Smiling at that, Beckett let him go and stepped away saying, "I was, but you really should go. I'll look at the case, and fill you in on that once you get back so we can finish faster."

"That would be nice," Castle said, brushing his lips across hers before he put on his jacket and left with a last squeeze to her hand.

Closing the door after him and locking it, Beckett bit her lower lip, feeling how swollen it was before she shook her head and went to her office quickly before she could change her mind and call him to come back. Sitting at her desk, she opened their murder board, seeing it was a little bare. Realizing she had to update it badly, she went back to the kitchen, pouring the rest of the wine left in the bottle she and Castle had shared at dinner in a glass.

It took her almost ten minutes to get everything onto the screen, and once she had finished she leaned back against her chair with her glass of wine. She was looking at the picture of the gray threads that Lanie had found, and the picture of the handkerchief that the company that manufactured the threads produced as she had taken it with her phone before she'd left the Precinct. There was something overly familiar about that picture, and she brought her wine to her lips, taking a few hurried sips. She set down the glass, and then on the pad of paper she had in front of her, wrote a few ideas coming to her mind.

Taking a third, larger drink, Beckett suddenly realized where she had seen that same handkerchief before and she began to write the letter K before her hand suddenly went limp, jerking off to the side and leaving a long trail to the edge of the page. She tried to stand as she knew there was something wrong as she began to feel almost violently dizzy, and she slid to the floor as every limb in her body had stopped functioning to her commands. She tried to reach up to the desk, for her phone, and was somehow able to sweep her hand across before she fell onto her side, the glass of the remaining wine shattering next to her. She tried to speak, but her tongue felt thick and she got onto her hands and knees before she slid across the burgundy liquid to her phone.

"We can't have you doing that," a voice said above Beckett as she had just managed to roll her finger over the number 9. He took the phone and tossed it aside before turning his attention to her. Lifting her up under her arms, he made her look at him and smiled a little sadistically saying, "You almost had it didn't you? But that's alright, you're the _perfect_ winter. I told you, you would be warm. And you're going to be the last one I need."

Beckett was trying to fight against him, but knew it was impossible since he'd drugged her wine. She still tried, but all she could do was slightly move her arms and legs as he turned her, holding her back to his chest before he held a grey handkerchief over her face. She turned her head back and forth, but his hold was too strong, and she was too weakened. She thought of Julia, hoping frantically that Castle would get back soon enough to find her before everything faded to black as the chloroform flooded her mouth and nose, forcing it deep into her lungs.


	11. Caught With Your Hands In The Kill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Bring on the Lucie (Freeda Peeple) by John Lennon, from his album Mind Games.

"Jim?" Castle said, turning the corner and seeing Beckett's father running to the door to her apartment. "What is it?" he asked as the man turned and he could see he looked concerned.

"Have you talked to Katie since you left?" Jim asked. "When did you leave?"

"About forty minutes ago, I got held up at my place since my mother was talking to me about Sunday," Castle said, suddenly feeling anxious at the tone of the man's voice. "Have you talked to her?"

"I've been calling since about fifteen minutes ago," Jim replied. "I was trying to get in touch with her to let her know that I can take off work tomorrow to watch Julia if you need me to."

"Kate?" Castle called as he knocked at the door. He glanced down the hall but didn't see anything as he heard the rattle of keys hitting each other.

"Something is wrong," Jim said, shaking his head and trying to unlock the door. "Castle, it's open," he said as the door wasn't locked.

"Let me go first," Castle said in response. He opened the door slowly, waiting for the sound of bullets firing before he pushed it the rest of the way. The living room was empty, and he walked in carefully, looking over at the kitchen first before turning to the dining room table. He frowned when he saw the door to where the heater was wide open, and then glanced to Beckett's desk. He swore; startling her father; running to the wine staining the floor, glass shards among it and her phone against the wall. He looked at Jim, and they both said at the same time, "Julia."

Following Castle to the bedrooms, Jim glanced his daughter's room, but saw it was empty. He stopped up short as his daughter's fiancé was in the doorway, and looked past him, breathing out when he saw that his granddaughter was fine, sleeping still. "Where is she?" he said rhetorically as they walked back to the living room once Castle made a quick sweep of the other room and didn't find Beckett.

"I don't know, but I think I know who our last vic is," Castle said, feeling literally sick to his stomach as he thought of what would happen to his fiancée. He went over to the desk, being careful again of the shards of glass, looking at the pad of paper as Jim was calling the police. His eye was drawn to the single K she'd written before the ink had skewed almost violently off the page, and he looked up at her computer screen, seeing the picture she had open. It was as if everything flashed through his mind at that moment, and he ran out to the entry saying to Jim, "Call Ryan and Esposito, tell them Kate's here at the building still, but our killer has her," as he reached to the top shelf of the closet, taking her gun.

Nodding, though Castle was already out the door, Jim hurriedly called Ryan once the 911 operator let him go at his request. "Ryan? This is Jim Beckett. Yes, I came back to Katie's apartment just now, she wouldn't answer her phone so I came over to find Castle was here trying to tell her something about the case he figured out, but she never answered the door," he said, twisting the story enough as he grabbed Castle's bag he'd brought with him to take into his daughter's room. "We came inside and found a broken wineglass on the floor, and her phone, and she's gone. No, Julia's fine, but Katie is gone. Castle ran out of here, he said to tell you that she's your next victim, but the killer is here in the building."

Walking up to the apartment, Castle tested the knob, relieved to find it unlocked. He stepped inside, leaving the door wide open so Esposito and Ryan would know where to go. He looked around the living room, seeing nothing but puddles of water on the floor until he glanced at the sofa in the room. On the floor next to it were shredded pieces of fabric, what he immediately recognized as Beckett's outfit she'd worn that day, her boots she'd worn discarded aside the pile. Swallowing his fear that he was too late, he went to the only other door in the place, pushing it open as he held the gun close to his leg. But when the door swung open fully, he nearly dropped it as he ran inside with a horrified, "Kate!" escaping his lips.

In the middle of the bedroom, Beckett was laying on what looked to be a mattress raised up, surrounded by planks of wood. She was wearing a pale green cloak, as the woman wore in the winter lithograph, but her hair was draped over her shoulder, the hood still under her neck. There was a bird; whether dead or fake, Castle didn't bother to think about; cradled in her hand, both arms resting at her sides. The room was full of trees that were bare of any leaves, drifts of snow against them; real snow, as it was cold enough to keep it frozen.

When he got to her, Castle realized two things, first that she was completely naked underneath the cloak and second that the mattress he thought she was laying down on was instead a solid block of ice. He reached for her neck with fumbling fingers as his breath puffed out, and pressed them to her pulse, nearly collapsing to his knees in thanks as it was steadily beating. He touched her cheek, dismayed when he felt it cold against his skin. He then had a sudden thought; sickening for him; wondering if the killer had decided that he was going to perform the ritual before he murdered her. He was about to pick her up to take her to the outer room, when he heard the creak of a footstep before he could move. He raised the gun as the killer stepped up to the doorway saying, "Put the cooler down," seeing the snow filling the white container.

"You're not a cop," Kent taunted as he stepped into the room, though he kept his eyes on the gun. "And since I'm guessing the rest of your friends are coming soon, get the hell out of the way."

"Do you think I'll let you near her," Castle asked, trying to keep relatively calm as the man went back and forth in front of him. "Knowing what you want to do to her."

"She's mine," Kent said firmly.

"She never was yours; neither were the others," Castle said. "Is that why you want these four women? They're your safe haven from the one who hurt you?"

Smiling as he backed up then to the windows, Kent said, "Think you have it all figured out too. You deserve each other. So she's yours, I took off that ring before we left."

Surprised at the direction the man had taken; Castle said simply, "She isn't mine either. Sit down until the police get here," he said, an edge to his voice as he guessed the man was hoping Beckett would freeze on the block of ice before she could be taken off it.

"There's one thing I should tell you Mr. Castle," Kent said then, stopping and turning back around to face him. "Aradhana Krishnamani." And before Castle could react, he threw the cooler towards him to give himself time, running to the window and crashing through the glass to plummet to the ground below letting in the sounds of sirens blaring as they drove to where his body came to rest.

Hurrying over to the window, Castle could see the man's body on a car, and he turned back, running to Beckett as he had the chance to get her off the ice. As he reached her, he saw her eyes opening and said, "It's me Kate," since she had a slightly panicked look at first.

"Castle," Beckett said in a quasi-questioning sigh, her voice slightly distorted.

"It's alright, he's dead, thank you for that K and the picture you had open on the screen," Castle was saying, almost babbling as he picked her up. He winced when her cloak opened, exposing her body to the cold, and he carried her quickly to the couch, setting her down on it and taking off his jacket. "Keep this on," he said closing the green cloak around the rest of her body tightly.

"I c-can't feel an-anyth-i-ing," Beckett said, falling back against the couch before he could stop her.

"Then you better lay down," Castle said, helping her as she wasn't really able to move that much. He buttoned his coat on her, and then heard footsteps running down the hall as he held the cloak closed below his jacket. When he looked up and saw it was her dad he said, "Julia-"

"Mrs. Parker is in the apartment, she could hear the glass breaking and saw me at the door," Jim said before looking at his daughter. "Katie?" he asked hesitantly as she was staring straight up at the ceiling.

"I think she's in shock, can you get some blankets?" Castle asked, not wanting to leave her. When her father had gone he sat next to her, rubbing her arms through his jacket, watching as she looked at him her eyes turning to him slowly. "He's dead," he said as he could see the unvoiced question in her eyes.

"Here," Jim said, coming back in with a number of blankets. He watched as Castle wrapped Beckett in them, helping her lay back down carefully before he went to the doorway at the sound of running. "She's alright, but we need to get her to a hospital, I think she's in shock," he told Esposito who reached him first.

"And she might have hypothermia," Castle said, standing up though he really didn't want to.

"What the hell did he do to her?" Esposito asked as Ryan got on the walkie-talkie he had.

"The same as the other three vics," Castle said. "Drugged her, knocked her out with chloroform, put her in a cloak and put her in there," he then said as he motioned to the bedroom.

"Ice, he put her on ice," Ryan said, going with Esposito to the bed.

"I better go see if they need help getting the killer off the car," Esposito said, looking even angrier than he had before.

"Was anyone hurt?" Castle asked.

"No, the car was parked and empty," Ryan said. "Let me see about the ambulance, it was close already when we got here."

Castle looked at Jim and said, "Someone has to go to the hospital with her," in a low voice since there was only an officer keeping guard at the door.

"I will, but you need to stay with Julia," Jim said.

Nodding, Castle could hear the sound of a stretcher down the hallway, and he ran to the doorway, seeing the EMTs nearing him. "They're here, are you any warmer?" he asked as he went back to Beckett. He was dismayed when she started to nod, but didn't take it all the way through, and he hoped that she hadn't ended up getting frostbite as well as hypothermia. By then the medics were inside and he stopped them from transferring her to the stretcher. Simply picking her up, he laid her down carefully and stepped back to let them secure her.

"I need to go with her," Jim said quickly as the two detectives came into the room. "But someone needs to stay with Julia; it might be a long time before she gets out of the hospital. Ryan?"

"I can't, we need to wrap up the case," the detective said simply.

"That leaves you bro," Esposito said.

"Sure," Castle said after faking hesitation. "Anything I need to know?" he asked Beckett's dad. "Does she have medicine?"

"I'll explain on the way, I need to get her clothes," Jim said as he left the apartment as the EMTs were still getting Beckett ready.

Castle had to school himself not to glance back at his fiancée, telling himself she would be alright, and turned, following her dad back into her apartment. "Mrs. Parker," he said to the woman. "Where's the ring?" he asked Jim before he could take a breath.

"In the other nightstand drawer, in its box," Jim said. "And your bag is in her closet, so if they come here, they won't know."

Nodding at that, Castle went into Beckett's room, and gathered some clothes into one of her bags, and he handed it to her dad back in the living room, watching him go. He was alone then, as Mrs. Parker had left, and he turned to check on Julia, seeing that she had thankfully slept through everything. He went back to the couch, and sat, covering his face with his still cold fingers as he tried to forget what he had seen in that bedroom.

"Castle?" a voice said at the door a few minutes later, making him look up. Ryan stepped inside and closed the door saying, "I need to take a statement."

"Yeah, it's why I left the door open," Castle said. He then remembered something and stood up saying, "Beckett's gun-"

"In her closet," Ryan said simply as he handed the weapon over to him.

Putting it away, Castle said a quiet thanks to the detective before asking, "Is Gates here?"

"She's been informed, but she's gone to the hospital with Esposito to hear her statement when Beckett's able to talk to them," Ryan said. "So let me know what happened."

"Pretty much everything Beckett's dad said happened, up until the point I ran out to the apartment and-" Castle said before there was a knock on the door.

"That's someone from CSU, they need to take pictures of the spilled wine, get the bottle," Ryan said simply as he went to let the man and woman outside in.

"Over there," Castle said, leading them to the office. "Do you need this?" he asked, pointing to the pad of paper with the K on it.

"I don't think so," the woman said. "Just a picture."

"That leads me to ask how you knew the apartment to go into," Ryan said, taking Castle back to the couch to leave the two to their work.

"She had told me about this neighbor coming in to use the phone when she was here with Julia," Castle said. "Apparently he moved in about two weeks ago, and they talked when he first did, but she said he was a little aggressive. And she said while he was on the phone before, he bothered Julia. I guess she's good at sensing if a guy is… off or something like that. You'll have to ask her. And she said his name was Kent, or his last name was, I don't know if he ever told her his first name. It's why the K on the pad of paper stood out to me." There he was lying, as it wasn't just the K that had clued him in, but the picture of the handkerchief, remembering they'd seen the man tucking one into his pocket while running to share the elevator with them two days before.

"Okay, and you couldn't wait for us?" Ryan asked.

"You really think I would just leave her there?" Castle replied instead of answering.

"I know, but I have to ask, in case Gates has any kind of problem," Ryan said.

"Did the EMTs say if she was okay or not as they were leaving with her?" Castle asked as Ryan made a few notations on his pad.

"Detective, we're finished, we're just taking the wine bottle," the male CSU member said.

"That's fine, thank you," Ryan said, indicating the glass. "Can that be cleaned up or does that need to stay as it is? She has a child; don't want her running around the broken glass."

"Or seeing the wine," Castle said.

"It can be cleaned, we got more than enough pictures," the woman said as she closed the door to the heater that she'd taken some pictures of.

"Thank you," Ryan repeated before the two left with the bottle of wine. "They didn't say anything," he said when he turned to Castle. "Tell me what happened when the killer came in."

"He was carrying a cooler full of snow, and I told him to drop it, which he did," Castle said. "He said Beckett was his, but then he went over by the window, and changed suddenly, saying she wasn't. It was bizarre, but I'm wondering if he just gave up and maybe wanted to throw me off so he could get out the window."

"It's sounding more and more like he was literally insane," Ryan said.

"Wait, he did say one thing before he jumped, Aradhana Krishnamani," Castle said quickly.

"A name?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, an Indian one, so that might be an ex-girlfriend," Castle said. "And if she's Hindu it would explain the _Om_ on the vics' hands. Beckett… didn't have that on her hand did she, I forgot about that." When Ryan hesitated he sighed as he knew his answer and said, "There's something else I should tell you. I think with Beckett, he wanted to make sure she was conscious when he raped her."

"Why?" Ryan asked in surprise.

"She woke up pretty shortly after he jumped out the window," Castle replied. "And she was supposed to be his last one, his special wife according to him. So I'm sure he wanted her awake to lend it some kind of legality in his mind."

"I'll head to the hospital, and tomorrow Espo and I will look into the name," Ryan said. "Since all we really need to investigate now is why."

"Ryan, was there a painting or sketchbook?" Castle abruptly asked.

"Both," Ryan said. "But the painting was unfinished; a little creepy to look at actually-"

"It would be a lot more if he'd managed to paint Beckett as winter," Castle interrupted him.

"True. And there was a sketchbook, but it was unfinished, sketches of her face, legs and hands, a lot of her hands," Ryan said. "I'm guessing that he wanted those for his painting since the woman in the lithograph is holding that bird."

Castle nodded and thought he returned Ryan's goodbye as the detective departed, but wasn't sure as he was anxious to know if his fiancée was alright. The case was finished, and he just wanted to get Beckett back home. He went over to Julia's room, checking to see if he, Ryan and CSU had woken her up. But she was still asleep, her Stitch doll up on her pillow somehow. Walking inside carefully, he gave it back to her, tucking it in her arms and kissing the top of her head before he went to the armchair he and Beckett had bought together for their daughter's room so they could read to her there. It was facing the bed, and he watched Julia sleeping, trying to use that as a distraction from the images that wouldn't leave his mind.

When the little girl made a sudden humming noise for a brief second, Castle decided to leave her to her dreams; extremely comforted in knowing she had no idea what had happened to her mother that night. He stood up from the chair and went to the bed, brushing his lips across her forehead tenderly before he left, leaving the door behind him open as he went before closing the door to the bedrooms. Out in the living room, he rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to sweep up the broken glass after he'd set Beckett's phone on the kitchen counter, gritting his teeth with every pass of the broom that ran the shards along the floor.

* * *

Standing at the windows, Castle couldn't see much, at nearly three thirty it was still well before dawn, but he had been unable to sleep, as Beckett still hadn't returned. He'd received one text from her dad since she'd been taken to the hospital, and that was to say the doctors were trying to see if she'd suffered hypothermia from the block of ice. That had been almost six hours ago, and he'd had no word since then, even his calls had gone straight to voicemail, and guessed Jim had turned off his phone.

Going to the kitchen he debated having a cup of coffee but finally went back to the couch, where he'd woken up with a jolt a few minutes before going to the windows. Castle looked at his watch, and glanced towards Julia's room, but he'd checked on her yet again after he'd dozed off the time before. He couldn't stay asleep, always having a feeling that he needed to be awake for something. Breathing in deeply, he checked his phone for any messages or possibly missed calls, but his screen was nothing but the cover for _Deadly Heat_. Setting the phone on the coffee table; and just managing not to slam it down; he placed his head in his hands.

He couldn't prevent it, and the image of Beckett lying on the ice in that very thin cloak flooded Castle's mind, making him shudder in remembrance. He shook his head and stood, walking back to the windows. Before he could get past the table though, his phone began to vibrate, and he snatched it up, seeing it was a text from Beckett's dad. When he saw the message simply read, _Katie recovered, coming home_ , he nearly fell back on the couch in a mixture of relief and exhaustion. He then stood back up in a hurry, pacing back and forth in front of the entry doorway to wait.

It took another half hour until the sound of the key in the lock alerted Castle to their return, and he was about to run to the door when it opened, and he saw Beckett, being supported by her father. "Kate," he said simply, rushing to her.

Not saying anything, Beckett took a few steps towards him before her fiancé gathered her in his arms. She clung to him as tightly as her arms would allow, feeling his hand running down her hair before she whispered, "I don't remember that much."

"I know, but are you okay?" Castle asked, looking down at her as he noticed her grip wasn't as tight as it would have normally been.

"She checked herself out earlier than the doctor suggested," Jim said, watching the reunion between the two. "She had some slight hypothermia, but he said the blankets helped her avoid any kind of frostbite."

"And with the amount of the drug in my system, I'm going to be very weak until likely tomorrow afternoon," Beckett said, sounding aggravated. "So it looks like you're taking care of us both."

"Which I don't care about," Castle said simply.

Beckett was quiet after he said that, hearing the sincerity in his tone, and then whispered, "Rick? I need to see her."

Nodding, Castle could hear the question that she didn't ask, saying, "Do you want me to…?" When she nodded in response he quickly picked her up, the shock of her body warm in his arms as compared to nearly frozen when he'd gotten her out of the killer's bedroom almost making him stop. But he kept going, taking her into Julia's room where he set her down, helping her sit on the edge of the bed as she nearly fell onto it. Once she was set he stayed standing next to her, but held her left hand tightly within his as she stroked Julia's hair off her face with her right.

Smiling as she looked over their daughter, Beckett could feel the tears welling in her eyes as she saw how peaceful Julia looked. She didn't use an excuse of those tears making her appear weak to fight them; merely let them fall as she was in that moment happy to be home. Finally she turned to Castle, and stood up with his help before he picked her up again, seeing her father watching them in the doorway before he lead the way back to the living room. "Okay Dad?" she asked when her fiancé set her down by an armchair at her direction. She realized that her tears were still on her face, so she hurriedly wiped them away, not caring the two men had seen them.

"I am, just glad you're okay," Jim said simply. "You two should get some sleep though, you both look pretty fatigued."

"So do you," Beckett said, going over to him to hug him tightly. "Thank you for watching Julia."

Nodding, Jim hugged his daughter back and said, "Get some rest," a little sternly. "And don't try and do more than-"

"I heard the doctor Dad," Beckett interrupted him with a smile. "And I'll be careful until I feel I'm back to normal. Come back tomorrow okay? I'm sure Julia will want to see you."

"I'll stop by in the afternoon," Jim said. He walked over to the door with Castle then, and they both turned to watch Beckett walking into her room slowly. "Make sure she doesn't push herself too hard, she's more than a little angry she's not fully recovered."

"I know, and I will," Castle said. He nearly jumped when he felt Beckett's dad clasp his shoulder and said, "I had to find her," a little lamely, knowing he was going to thank him for saving her life.

"I know," Jim said, echoing him. "And after what could have happened to her, I know she's more than safe with you. Goodnight Castle."

"Night," he replied, touched at the compliment. When he had locked the door, Castle turned and went to Beckett's room, seeing she was sitting on the edge of his side of the bed. "Okay?" he asked simply.

"Yeah," she said, looking up at him as he walked over to sit next to her. "I want to take a shower though."

"I can help you," Castle offered, knowing she wanted him to but didn't want to say it.

"That would be nice," Beckett said, standing up. She felt a little off balance, but before Castle could steady her she was able to straighten up. "I'm okay, this happened at the hospital." She walked ahead of him to the bathroom, and let him help her undress at her request. She watched him as he pulled her sweater off of her and said, "It's fine," seeing his slight hesitation.

"I just don't want to push you," Castle said.

"I'll tell you if you do," Beckett assured him as she helped him the best she could with the rest of her clothes. "I'll wait," she said, stopping him from leading her to the shower.

Castle nodded to that, and hurriedly undressed before they stepped into the stall together, under the cascading water. He held her very lightly around the waist, watching her running her hands over her hair. He couldn't deny that he was growing aroused as he looked on, but wasn't planning on acting on it as she stepped towards him a little to get out from under the water.

Beckett could feel the tension in Castle's body as he would from time to time help her when she needed it. They never said a word until they were dressed and on her bed, and only then did she break the silence asking, "What is it?"

"Did he…" Castle started to say, knowing he had to ask and find out.

"No," Beckett quickly answered, realizing what was bothering him. "Is that what was wrong?"

"Well, yes, I think he was going to try and… do the ritual before he killed you, so I didn't know if he had or not," Castle said, trying not to hesitate as he spoke.

Wrapping her arms around him as she could hear the strain in his voice, Beckett kissed the side of his head and said, "No, I asked them to check, very slowly, but I was finally able to. And the doctor assured me I hadn't been assaulted in any way. Which is a shock since I was naked underneath that cloak."

"I saw," Castle said, holding her close to him.

"Did anyone see that?" Beckett asked, pulling back to look at him.

"Likely just me and the people at the hospital," Castle said. "If they took the cloak off you."

"They did, to put me into a hospital gown, I asked them to burn it before my dad and I left," Beckett said as he let her go. She wrapped her arms around herself as she was shaking slightly, saying, "But took that back as I knew it was going to be evidence." She watched then as he suddenly turned to his nightstand, and took out her ring saying, "He took it off?"

"He did, your dad found it," Castle said as he held her hand while he slid the silver and diamond band on her finger. He then took her hand with his own fully, squeezing it gently as they stared at one another. He saw then that she was trying to control her trembling, and quickly moved as she asked him what was wrong.

When she realized what he was doing, Beckett let him lay her down and she went on her side, looking at him saying, "I'm lucky you could figure out what I had realized when the drug kicked in. And that I managed to get that K written down before my arm went out."

"Are you still cold?" Castle asked as he could feel her shaking still.

"A little," Beckett replied. She sat up as he slipped out from under the covers, wrapping her arms around her bent knees to watch him grab her other heavy winter comforter. "You might get hot tonight," she warned him as she helped him spread the dark green fabric over the bed.

"It was freezing in that room," was all that Castle would say in response.

Waiting until he was next to her, Beckett stopped him from making them lay down again, and brushed her lips across his whispering, "I'm here, very much alive."

"I know, it's just…" Castle began to say in reply before he trailed off. "That's an image I don't think I'll be able to get out of my head."

"Did…" Beckett started to say. "Was there a sketchbook, or a…"

"Painting? Yeah, both of them Ryan told me," Castle said. "The painting unfinished and with the sketchbook it looks like he was mainly drawing your face and hands."

"Nothing of my body?" Beckett asked, trying not to rush through the words.

"Your legs," Castle said. "You can't see much of the woman's body in the lithograph," he continued with before she could speak, not sure if he was doing that to keep her from speaking or to reassure her there weren't any sketches of her naked body; actual or imagined. "Just her foot, calf, hands and face," he said.

"But she's obviously naked," Beckett said simply. "But warm, that's what he said to me," she told him, looking down at her hands. "Before he used the chloroform. He said I was the perfect winter, but that I was warm."

"He obviously meant your personality was," Castle said, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close as she was shaking harder suddenly. He hesitated, but finally said, "He likely saw you with Julia, or maybe your dad-"

"And more than likely you," Beckett said. "How do we know he didn't hear us before you left?"

Castle had to concede that, but he pulled away slightly to look at her and said, "He's dead now, you need to remember that, and his insane killing spree is over."

"So long as you remember that too," Beckett said, looking up into his eyes.

"Right," Castle said with a nod. "I'll try but…"

"Nightmares?" Beckett asked. He didn't reply, but she knew the answer already, and simply said, "We'll suffer through them both together. It might bring us closer you know."

"I do, but I'd like it to be because of something else more positive," Castle said as she pressed against his side. "Shouldn't we get back under the covers?" he eventually asked as the room fell into silence.

"Probably," Beckett said simply.

"You're still cold, come on," Castle said when he felt her shaking against him. He helped her lay down under the covers fully; lying behind her while he held her close against his chest.

"It's like I can still feel that ice under me," Beckett said, shuddering in the middle of her shaking.

"I'm not surprised, but you should try and think of something warm," Castle said, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

"Like what?" Beckett asked, turning over to look at him.

"Remember Tahiti?" Castle pointed out to her.

Smiling at the memory of their trip together at the end of February the year before, Beckett nodded and said, "Very little clothes that trip."

"Of course, it also helped out we were pretty much alone around the other bungalows," Castle said. "But it was so warm we just jumped into the water right from the steps. Even at night."

"Again, you're lucky we were alone in our section for that," Beckett said, since they'd gone out one night into the ocean for a quick dip that had ended up with their clothing being discarded on the steps before they'd gone under the stairs together.

"But it worked, you're not shaking," Castle pointed out, since she wasn't.

"Hmm, thank you," Beckett said as she realized that he was right. She looked up at him then and said, "And you?"

"I'll be fine," Castle assured her.

"Though," Beckett began.

"Though?" Castle asked, wondering what she was thinking with the way she was looking at him.

"You could warm me up now," Beckett said, not really serious about wanting to make love with him, but needed to test a theory she'd had since she'd come home.

"No," Castle said firmly.

Nodding, Beckett turned around, knowing that while she herself was okay, she was going to need to talk to him. "Not tonight," she said under her breath.

"Not for a while probably," Castle said. He expected to have some kind of reaction to that, but when Beckett didn't say anything, he guessed she was asleep, so he took the chance and kissed the space of skin under her neck whispering, "I love you Kate."

"I love you too Castle," Beckett immediately replied, unable to help smiling when he jerked a little against her in surprise. She reached back and then paused, suddenly sitting up. As he'd done the same thing, she was able to wrap her arms around him before she kissed him.

Castle was confused, knowing that Beckett had to be exhausted, but she wouldn't relax. He guessed, as he took over the kiss for her, that she might be unsettled with what happened, so he decided to help her the best he could. When they needed to breathe he slowly pulled away and cupped her face in his hands, pressing his forehead against hers. He then ran his hands down her shoulders, pulling her close once he had them wrapped around her waist.

"Are you not tired now?" Beckett asked in surprise as he just held her.

"I thought you weren't," Castle said, pulling away slightly to look at her.

"I am, but I wanted to make sure you were okay," Beckett said simply.

"No, I am, just worried about you still," Castle said.

Beckett kissed him at that, and when they pulled apart a little while later she said softly, "I'll be fine. Just promise me tomorrow you won't hover or…"

"Pamper you? You never really let me do that," Castle said, their lips brushing against each other.

"I'll let you know what I want you to do," Beckett said, smiling slightly at that. "For now, we really should sleep."

"Yes we should, it's almost past four fifteen, Julia's going to wake up before we will," Castle said, glancing at the clock as they went to lie down as they'd been before. He kissed Beckett gently on the lips before she settled completely, and when they parted, let her relax in front of him before he could hear her breathing evening out.

As soon as he knew she was asleep, Castle breathed out deeply and raised his head and watched her. He had no idea how long he was doing that, only that he was trying to reassure himself that she was really alright. But remembering their conversation, he knew that she was, and was trying to keep going, trying already to put everything with that night behind her. Laying back down he found himself pressing up against her a little closer, feeling the warmth of her body, keeping that in his mind as he tried to ignore the sudden idea that had come to him as he'd watched her.

Castle couldn't stop considering the thought of taking Beckett and their families to San Francisco the next day. Just whisk her away and marry her at City Hall. Realizing she had been taken earlier he had been horrified to think that he had lost his chance to marry her. And it wasn't to just marry her for the sake of marrying her, but to make sure they were closer than they already were and to make their relationship and their family completely official. He sighed then as he tried to push the thought away, not really wanting to elope with her, wanting to take his time and make sure their ceremony was something she could look back on with joy and not think about how rushed they'd been.

The fatigue he'd fought through that night until he'd gotten the text from her dad caught up to him then, and Castle shook his head slightly before he leaned over, kissing the side of Beckett's head. Making himself relax behind her, he closed his eyes and was quickly asleep, his deep, even breathing mingling with hers as they took the chance to put more time between that night and the dawn of the next day.


	12. Rise Up Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Spinning on an Axis by Paul and James McCartney, from Paul's album Driving Rain.

When she opened her eyes the next morning, Beckett was a little confused, not sure what time it was, or if she had slept alone that night since she didn't feel Castle near her. Turning over, she saw then that he was still there, but he'd moved to the other end of the bed, his legs out from under the comforter, the sheet tangled around him. Sitting up, she realized then he'd had a nightmare, and she felt a little guilty that she hadn't known, but had been so exhausted that she wasn't surprised he hadn't woken her up that time. She leaned over then, brushing aside the strands of hair that were on his forehead before she stroked his cheek gently, watching as his slightly tense body relaxed under her touch.

Blinking his eyes open, Castle looked up to see his fiancée smiling down at him, murmuring good morning with the sun shining through the windows behind her. He was a little confused, unsure if it was a dream or real, and he hurriedly sat up, grabbing her and holding her to him tightly.

"I'm okay," Beckett told him as she could feel the desperation in his grasp. She pressed her cheek against his and whispered, "It was just a nightmare."

"I know," was all that Castle would say, not letting her go.

"Bad?" Beckett asked him. She felt his nod, and sighed, having been hoping it wasn't. She pulled away a little and cupped his face in her hands saying, "You feel me right? Dreams can't really recreate that."

Bowing his head in response to rest his forehead against her shoulder, Castle knew she was right, but he still didn't want to let her go. When he lifted his head, he brought her closer to him and closed the last gap left in between them, kissing her gently.

A little taken aback at how tender that kiss was, Beckett held onto him as tightly as she could as his hold on her went from a way of reassuring himself to him wanting to feel her for far different reasons. But she could feel her arms start to shake and she cursed under her breath when he moved away. "I am okay," she said quickly.

"No, I realize that, but I forgot you're still going to be a little weak," Castle said. "And-" he started to say before he broke off suddenly when they could both hear the sound of bare feet running down the hall. "Someone's up," he said, pleased to see the smile on his fiancée's face. He kissed her gently before letting her go, grabbing Julia as she almost burst into the room.

"Are you up now?" Julia asked eagerly, her voice a little stronger, but still soft in its tone.

"Were you awake before this sweetie?" Beckett asked as Castle carried their daughter over to the bed.

"Yeah, but I didn't hear you talking, so I waited," Julia said as Castle set her down and she hurried across the bed to hug her mother. She frowned as she noticed her mother's hug wasn't as tight as it usually was and she pulled back asking worriedly, "Are you kay Mommy?"

"I was a little sick last night sweetie," Beckett replied, sharing a glance with Castle and seeing in his expression that he agreed they needed to tell Julia something.

"Oh, I remember Grandpapa was here, but I was asleep, was it a dream?" the little girl then asked.

"He was, he watched you for a little until your mom was better," Castle explained.

"Are you better?" Julia asked.

"I am, just a little weak, so now it's my turn to rest," Beckett said, stroking her hair.

"Kay, I hope you feel better fast," Julia said, snuggling against her mother as they hugged again.

"Me too," Castle said before he stood up. "I'll take care of breakfast… or brunch I think it's going to be," he said, looking at the clock on Beckett's nightstand.

Looking over, she wasn't too surprised to see that it was nearly eleven, and Beckett had to wonder how long Julia had been awake. She reached over and took Castle's hand before he left the bed, squeezing it tightly before he leaned down and kissed her palm before he kissed the top of their daughter's head to her smile before he left.

"Are you sure you're kay Mommy?" Julia asked then, watching her mother a little suspiciously.

"I am, I promise. Castle is just a little worried about me," Beckett said. "Kind of like how we're worried when you're sick."

"That's good," Julia said. When Beckett looked at her she smiled and said, "It means he loves you a lot."

"He does," Beckett had to agree, since the little girl was right.

"Would you be worried if he was sick?" Julia asked.

"I would," Beckett assured her. "Now, sweetie, we can't really do too much today, but we could still try and go on that walk."

"Can we?" Julia asked in excitement.

"And we'll go to the other windows on the other side of the floor okay?" Beckett said, since the windows closest to home would take them past the killer's apartment, and she didn't want her daughter to see any police tape likely still on the door.

"Kay, but can you go?" Julia said.

"I'll try, but I'm pretty sure Castle would help me if I need it," Beckett replied simply. She then let her daughter go and propped up her pillows behind her before leaning back against them. "Why don't you go tell him to bring breakfast in here so we can eat?"

"He said brunch, or he can carry you outside to eat," Julia said.

"Go," Beckett said with a smile; though she had to wonder why the little girl had said that since she had never seen Castle carrying her. "Tell him he can decide." Once Julia was gone she leaned back against the pillow, looking at the wall across the bed, but not really focusing on anything as she was thinking. She was still concerned about Castle, since she could tell that while he was reassured she was alright, something was still bothering him. She pretty much knew what that was, but decided to wait; hopefully for that night; to try and talk to him, to make sure it wasn't something that was going to be a problem between them.

Jerking slightly as her phone vibrated with a text right then, Beckett reached over to it and when she opened the screen, saw it was from Lanie. Instead of reading the text, she called her friend, hoping she wasn't busy with work at that moment. "Hey Lanie," she said when the doctor had answered.

"Oh good, girlfriend you know you scared the hell out of me," she said in reply to that. "Javi called me to let me know what had happened, and I tried to see you at the hospital, but got called away for a procedure."

"On the killer?" Beckett asked simply, not surprised Lanie hadn't said who it was.

"Yeah, nothing really to say though, he died from jumping out a window," Lanie replied plainly. "How are you though?"

"Okay, just a little… weak still, but I was told to expect that until later today," Beckett replied.

"Anyone there to help you out?" Lanie asked.

"I'm okay on my own right now," Beckett said. "My dad's coming over later though. At the moment I should go and-"

"Wait, Javi said that Castle found out where you were, and he got you off that block of ice that you were laying on," Lanie interrupted her.

"Yes, and I was wearing a cloak the killer put me in," Beckett said, knowing where her friend was going with that.

"And you were naked underneath," Lanie commented.

"Yes, and you remember that bomb that went off in my apartment?" Beckett reminded her.

"Alright, go, but I'm coming over later with the boys after work, maybe at five," Lanie said in exasperation as she knew she wasn't going to get anything from her. "We'll call before we go."

"Thank you for calling Lanie," Beckett said.

"Give my love to Julia, I'll see you later," the doctor replied before hanging up.

Sighing as she turned off the phone, Beckett looked up as Julia walked into the room carefully, holding a glass and a mug she could tell was filled with coffee. "That's not too hot for you?" she said as she went to the edge of the bed to take the mug.

"No, I carried it Mommy," Julia said with a smile. "And I didn't spill anything," she continued earnestly.

"You did a good job," Beckett assured her, taking the glass and setting it with her mug onto the nightstand before she picked up her daughter.

Wrapping her arms around her mother's neck, Julia asked, "Are you kay Mommy?"

"I just wanted a hug," Beckett said with a slight smile, relieved when Julia responded with one that was very tight.

"I love you Mommy, but you should be happy," she said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"I am," Beckett said, meaning it. "I almost forgot, your aunt and uncles will come later."

"How come?" Julia asked. "To see you?"

"They just want to make sure I'm not sick," Beckett said, reminding herself mentally to send a text to the boys and Lanie to not mention the night before specifically around the little girl. "Lanie called," she said as Castle came into the room with a tray.

"They're coming over?" he asked, setting it next to her.

"They are, and they'll call before they get here, so we'll know when you need to go," Beckett said. "Oh, and they'll come after work."

"I can always call my mom and have her here when they come," Castle said. "Apartment might get crowded though."

"I get the feeling they won't stay too long, especially if Lanie finds out you got here before they did," Beckett said.

"Okay, well, I'm prepared for that," Castle said, taking one of the bowls on the tray. "Are you?"

"I think I'm getting used to it at this point to be honest," Beckett said with a shrug. She took some of the oatmeal in her bowl and then paused, seeing Julia eating a spoonful before she began to speak.

"I put more milk in hers, plus she says her throat is feeling better," Castle said before she could say anything.

"Is that true?" Beckett asked their daughter. She shook her head slightly when Julia nodded without saying anything, and she leaned over, kissing the top of her head. She wasn't too surprised when Julia looked up at her, pursing her lips, and she kissed her gently. "Thank you for the sticky kiss," she said, wiping off her mouth before getting another napkin for her daughter's lips which had the oatmeal on them.

"Better than the kiss I got," Castle said jokingly. "Right on the cheek, about three of them, oatmeal all over the place."

"I was tasting breakfast," Julia said with a giggle. "I was hungry."

"I can tell," Beckett said. "But you still need to take your medicine." She was surprised when the little girl merely shrugged and said, "I guess she remembered there are only two doses left."

Castle only nodded in response, before he remembered something, "Alexis called Julia while I was making the oatmeal."

"Called Julia? What'd she say sweetie?" Beckett asked, looking at Castle questioningly. When he nodded slightly, she gave a quick nod in return; him letting her know that he'd told his daughter what had happened to her the night before, and her letting him know she wasn't mad that he had. She turned to Julia who began to speak, unable to help smoothing her hand over their daughter's hair.

"She said she thought of something, she said if you and Castle want to let us," Julia was saying.

"Which is what?" Castle asked.

"You didn't hear?" Beckett asked her fiancé in surprise.

"Alexis directed her to go to her room while they talked, I guess you were on the phone with Lanie and didn't hear her," Castle explained.

"She said you're gonna have music when you get married, are you?" Julia asked.

"We will, and there will be dancing," Beckett said, not surprised when the little girl immediately looked excited at that.

"She said if you have a DJ," Julia continued, slowing down with the two letters. "That we should choose your songs, not Castle."

"And she doesn't think I'd choose good songs?" Beckett asked.

"You can choose some, but not all of them," Julia explained patiently, not seeing her mother and Castle were fighting smiles at her tone.

"Okay, what songs are you going to pick?" Beckett asked.

"Can we?" Julia asked. When her mother nodded she squealed and would have thrown herself at her mother, but she still had her oatmeal. "There are a lot of songs that Paul had that were romantic… Alexis said they should be romantic. And George, lots of his songs are good for when you are in love."

Castle and Beckett exchanged a smile as they listened to their daughter chattering away, naming album titles she wanted to look at to find songs and they finished up their meal before he was taking everything to the kitchen. When he went back to the bedroom once everything was clean, he saw that Beckett was alone, and finishing changing into clothes. "Casual today?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Beckett said before she started to leave to go to Julia's room.

"I can help her," Castle said, taking her hand as he saw she was still walking slow, but looked to be a little stronger than the night before.

"I would appreciate that," Beckett said, sounding annoyed.

Castle wanted to say something reassuring, but knew she didn't really want to hear it. So instead he pulled her against him and hugged her tightly, a little surprised when she wrapped her arms around him in response. "When Julia and I go out there, we better not see you doing pull ups on the bar," he said, wanting to make her laugh.

"Like I'm going to be able to reach it," Beckett said, shaking her head, smiling a little as she knew what he was trying to do. She pressed her cheek to his chest and said, "I'll be waiting for you two. We need to figure out what we're going to do today, and I think I know what I want to do first."

"Okay, let me just go get her dressed and we'll be right out," Castle said easily before he leaned down and took her lips.

Holding on tightly to him, Beckett responded, a little glad the kiss wasn't overly passionate as she distantly heard someone walking down the hall to the door.

"Mommy?" Julia said, pausing in the doorway. She ducked back out of the way when she saw her mother and Castle kissing, giggling a little as she was slightly embarrassed at having caught them; though it wasn't the first time she'd happened to walk up to them doing that.

"Hey sweetheart, ready to get dressed?" Castle asked, coming out of the room as he and Beckett had parted when they'd heard Julia's giggle.

"What about Mommy?" she asked as he picked her up and carried her to her room.

"She'll meet us at the door," Castle said. He couldn't help chuckle as the little girl looked at him in confusion and said, "She wants to walk first."

"Oh, so do I," Julia said excitedly.

Beckett walked out to the living room and clenched her teeth together as it felt like it took far too long until she reached a chair; having heard Castle. She sat down and moved her arms, trying to test them. But she could feel immediately that they weren't responding as fast as they normally would. She could console herself with the heartening fact that at least she was able to control her limbs better than after drinking the wine. She heard Julia hurry out to her and took her in her arms saying, "You must be better, you won't stop running."

"I feel better," Julia said happily. "Are you Mommy?"

"A little, don't worry, you'll know when I'm better," Beckett said. "But on this walk stay close to us okay?"

"Kay," Julia said, looking slightly surprised as her mother hadn't told her that for a while.

"Sorry sweetie, I know you will, I just want you close okay?" Beckett said, shaking her head at Castle over Julia's shoulder as they hugged. She shared a kiss with their daughter before standing, relieved she didn't lose her balance; another improvement. She took Castle's hand as Julia opened the door, and grabbed her hand with her free one as they waited for him to lock the door.

"Why are we going this way?" Julia asked as her mother turned her in the opposite direction of where she and her grandfather had walked the day before.

"Because we want to see a different view," Castle explained. "I'm sure it'll be nice though," he assured her. He squeezed Beckett's hand as they rounded the corner and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Going to be okay?"

Knowing what he was referring to, Beckett smiled and said, "Someone new will move in, I'm crossing my fingers it'll be a family, with a friend for our little girl."

"Someone's moving in?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Maybe, we need to see still," Beckett replied. They had quickly made it to the window on that side of the building, and she let go of Castle so he could pick Julia up to look out.

"Sure we can't go outside Mommy? Maybe the sun will make you feel better," Julia said wistfully as she looked up at the sky. "And the sky is so pretty and blue it makes me happy."

"Saturday, I promise," Beckett said. "Though…" she started to say as Castle led them back to her place.

"Though?" Castle echoed.

"We could go on a walk again," Beckett said. "Actually I think we need to make a stop at the market, our food is likely getting low."

"What about for lunch next door?" Julia asked eagerly.

"You always want to go there," Castle laughed as Julia was looking at them pleadingly.

"They have the best noodles!" Julia said, talking about the Vietnamese noodle place next to the market they went to. "Can you think about it Mommy, Castle?"

"We will," Beckett said simply as they went back to her place.

"Do we need to go back," Julia said.

"After lunch we'll walk again," Castle said. "You might be back to normal then," he said to Beckett.  
"I'm hoping," she replied simply before Julia was asking them about that Sunday. When they were inside the apartment she sat on the couch as Castle was getting something for them to drink in the kitchen. "What is it sweetie?" she asked their daughter who leaned against her.

"Can I make a braid?" Julia asked.

"Go get my brush and a band," Beckett said. She kept Julia from running off though, and kissed her gently before watching her hurry to the bedrooms.

"Good?" Castle asked as he handed her a glass of juice. "I should have taken your order before I went into the fridge."

"This is fine," Beckett said simply, watching him. She was about to ask him if he was okay, when Julia came back out.

"Mommy said I could make a braid," the little girl told Castle seriously as she climbed up on the couch behind her mother who had turned to him so she could get to her hair.

"I can see that," Castle said, unable to help smile slightly as he watched how serious Julia looked as she was brushing out her mother's hair. "Can I ask something?"

"Go ahead," Beckett said, taking the brush from Julia.

"Did you ever do this with your mom?" Castle said.

Giving him a quick smile so he'd know she was okay with the question, Beckett said, "I don't think so, I might have played with her hair, but don't really remember ever braiding it. Now if you'd asked if she did mine…"

"Of course, what about your dad?" Castle asked, suddenly realizing he'd never imagined the man brushing Beckett's hair when she was little, much less braiding it.

"Oh he did, there were times my mom had to go into work early, and he needed to brush my hair. He never was that adept at braids but he could put it up in a ponytail," she replied with a smile. "You never thought of that did you?"

"Which is foolish, why wouldn't a dad do that for his daughter," Castle said. "Are you having trouble sweetheart?" he asked then, leaning over to see if their daughter was doing alright since she'd just restarted the braid for a third time.

"I want it to be perfect, 'cause everyone is gonna come over," Julia said simply.

"Just do the best you can," Beckett said.

"Can I ask a question now Mommy?" Julia asked softly.

"Go ahead," Beckett said, Castle nodding in response.

"Alexis said you have a first dance you dance all alone at the wedding," Julia said. At their nods she said, "She said to ask if you have a song that you have for just you for that."

"We do," Castle said. "And it's one you know." When Julia looked past her mother at him he simply said, " _Always_."

"The one Paul sings?" the little girl asked eagerly. "That's your song?"

"It is," Beckett replied. "Is that a good one?"

"Really good," Julia said, nodding her head up and down wildly. "Why did you pick that one?"

"We're not really sure," Castle began.

"We were listening to some music a little before Valentine's Day, and that one came on and Castle asked me to dance," Beckett said, knowing he'd wanted her to tell the story. "And we realized that we'd liked the song before, but hadn't realized the lyrics applied to us incredibly well; especially the chorus. So we decided it was our song."

"I like that story," Julia said, putting the band around the end of her mother's braid. She draped her mother's braid over her shoulder and she hugged her from behind saying, "I can't wait until you dance," before she got down off the couch and took the brush back to her mother's room.

"I have to agree with her on that," Beckett said, looking at her fiancé.

"Me too," Castle said simply as he slid down the couch closer to her, running his hand over her hair before pulling her into him so their lips could meet for a kiss. Though he soon heard Julia running back towards them, he didn't stop until they needed to breathe and he brushed his lips quickly against Beckett's before going to their daughter who was looking at the floor, picking her up and taking her to the couch with him as she giggled in joy, hugging him tightly as she pressed her cheek to his.

* * *

"Oh darling I'm so relieved, so relieved you're okay," Martha said, hugging Beckett after she had let her into the apartment. She let go of her and held Beckett by her arms asking, "You are alright now?"

"I'm fine," she said, smiling. After they'd eaten lunch earlier that afternoon, and had taken their second walk, she had felt her strength slowly returning, and by then almost felt like she was back to normal. "Thank you for coming to see me."

"I had to of course, and I wanted to check on Julia, to see how she is," Martha said as they went over to the couch.

"Castle's with her in her room," Beckett said.

"And the flowers?" Martha asked in surprise, seeing the newest bouquet in a vase. "You could open a flower shop with all you've gotten."

"That's from your son," Beckett said, looking at the red roses and red tulips.

"Which isn't a surprise, and the others behind them?" Martha asked.

"Lanie, the boys sent one each; though Ryan's is from him and Jenny. And those are all actually for Julia with a PS on the card that they're for me too," Beckett said.

"You have some very good friends," Martha said with a nod, looking over the different kinds of flowers from the three. But her eye kept going back to her son's bouquet and she said, "Did he get one for her?"

"It's right here Mother," Castle said, coming out with Julia skipping ahead of him. "She couldn't find a good place in her room for it," he told Beckett. "So we brought it back to join the others."

"They are beautiful flowers," Martha said as she watched him put the vase of the red and white variegated tulips were in on the coffee table. "You've seen a lot of flowers this week Julia. You are most likely the most loved little girl there could be."

"I made this," the little girl then said shyly, handing a card to her

"For me?" Martha asked, taking it and then pulling Julia to her so she could hold her in her arms. " _Thank you for taking care of me and all the beautiful flowers you gave me. Julia._ Darling, you are very welcome," she read before kissing Julia's temple to her shy giggle. "And it's a beautiful card."

"Like the braid she did in Kate's hair?" Castle commented. He saw his fiancée's look, but wasn't too surprised it wasn't really angry as he knew his choice of flowers; mostly the fact that they were the color red; made her less irritated at him. He went to the kitchen then to get a drink for his mother to try and forget how Beckett had reacted when he'd set the flowers in a vase, wrapping her arms around him tightly as they kissed passionately even though their daughter was there in the room with them. When they had pulled apart, he realized the way she was pressed against him, but had quickly put some distance between them, not really wanting to press her. He shook his head to bring himself back to the present as he felt his fiancée's arm on his shoulder, and looked at her. "Yeah?" he asked, handing the glass of water to his mother since he knew she wouldn't want to drink wine so early in front of Julia.

"I don't think you even heard my answer to your question Richard," Martha said, slightly scolding her son. "Just turned and walked away. But I said Julia did a fabulous job on her mother's hair, it's stunning."

"I'm not sure about the stunning part," Beckett said, since his mother had gone back to the couch with Julia; the latter blushing at her praise. "But it works well. And I feel much better."

"You do? Then do the test," Castle said, holding his hand up to her. He winced when she punched him in the palm and nodded saying, "Yeah, I think you've got your strength back," as he waved his hand, faking pain.

"You're not really such a baby," Beckett said, stepping close to him and wrapping her arms around him, "We need to talk," she then said softly.

"Now?" Castle asked, wondering if she wanted to talk about the night before.

"Later, when we're alone," Beckett said before there was a knock on the door. She let go of Castle as he hurried to go to an armchair where he'd draped his jacket over it, and once he was sitting; looking like he'd just arrived with his mother; she went to open the door. "Hey guys," she said, startled to see all three of them were there.

"We just got off shift," Esposito said. "And we wanted to see how you were doing and… update you on the case," he ended in a low voice as Julia was coming over to them.

"Thank you for my flowers," Julia said shyly.

"Dad," Beckett said, seeing him walking down the hall hurriedly then.

"I'm so sorry, they wouldn't let me get off work after all," Jim explained as the others went inside. He hugged his daughter tightly asking, "Okay?"

"Pretty much recovered, which is a relief," Beckett said.

"Hey bro, when did you get here?" Esposito asked Castle.

"A couple minutes ago, my mom wanted to see how Beckett was doing, and Julia of course," he answered as they turned to the little girl who was being looked at by Lanie.

"She's doing extremely well," the doctor said. "You can close your mouth honey. That medicine did wonders."

"I made sure she took it," Beckett said with a nod, not surprised when her friend grabbed her by the arm and led her towards her room. "I'll be back sweetie," she said to Julia.

"So, Castle's here," Lanie began once they were inside Beckett's room, the door closed and her friend moving her fingers one at a time for her to check.

"Yes he is," she replied. She pushed against her friend's hand pressed against her arm at Lanie's direction and then said, "And he came with his mother, so let me stop you right there okay?"

"You seem like you're back to normal," the doctor said after she had Beckett walk in a straight line to test her balance.

"Great, is that enough? That feels too much like a sobriety test," Beckett said.

"That's enough, look Kate, you've got to be a little realistic," Lanie said. "None of us are getting any younger, and how many times now have you been almost killed or near death?"

"Are you talking about me settling down or finding a father for Julia?" Beckett asked.

"Both, but Julia needs someone to be there for her should anything happen to you," Lanie said, her tone not commanding but more subdued.

"I know, but my father will raise her should that happen," Beckett said.

"Yes, but what if something happens to him then?" Lanie asked.

"Just… I don't want to be pressured to find a guy, I told you already," Beckett said finally after hesitating to find the right words to keep her friend from going on with the subject for much longer.

"No one does, believe me, I'm one of those women who don't," Lanie said. "But you have a chance to be happy; you and Julia. Wait," she said quickly when Beckett opened her mouth to protest. "I'm not saying run out there to Castle now and start making out with him, start out small, go out for some coffee with him, or take Julia to a playground together. Something that's not a lot of pressure for either of you. He is single now remember."

"Hard not to forget," Beckett said, rolling her eyes slightly as she recalled the call she'd gotten from her friend after Esposito had told her. "Okay, I'll think about that, but for now, my mind is on celebrating my first Mother's Day with my daughter."

"Are you okay with that?" Lanie asked.

"Of course," Beckett said. "But, I can't help missing her."

"She'd be proud of you," Lanie said in a firm tone.

"Thank you Lanie. Okay, I want to see Julia before I hear from Espo and Ryan about what they learned about this killer," Beckett said as they left the room. She smiled when the little girl ran over to her as soon as she stepped out into the living room, and she picked her up, hugging her tightly. "Sorry about that sweetie, Lanie was just making sure I was okay."

"And she is," the doctor said reassuringly as Julia looked at her questioningly.

"Sweetie, can you do me a favor? Take your aunt to your room and show her the cards that you got okay?" Beckett asked.

"I might join you," Martha said, standing up from the couch. "I never got to see the cards."

Beckett smiled reassuringly at her dad as he joined them, and she turned to where the boys and Castle were standing in her office, the former two looking a little uncomfortable. "I don't have a problem coming in here," she said before any of them could say a word. "Tell me what you found out."

"The name that Castle gave us, Aradhana Krishnamani, is a woman, who actually goes by Hannah. Her father is Indian and her mother is Saudi Arabian," Esposito said. "And she came in when Ryan called her to talk to us in person. She answered a lot of questions."

"First though, you might want to see her picture," Ryan said, handing it to Beckett.

"She has _mamounia_ on her wrist," Beckett said quickly as she saw the Arabic writing that matched what had been on their victims' chest and bodies.

"Turns out her fiancée has a matching one on his wrist, it was a symbol of their love for each other, and the fact that together, they have a-" Ryan started to say.

"Safe haven," Castle finished. When the two men nodded he then said, "So is this fiancé the one she broke up with the killer for?"

"Turns out our killer's name isn't any of the ones he used for the apartments he was residing in," Esposito said. "Not that that's a really big shock. His real name is Stanley Carisbrooke."

"Carisbrooke as in Carisbrooke Clothiers?" Castle asked in slight shock.

"Right, he's a great grandson of the original Stanley Carisbrooke," Esposito said.

"Which makes him the… fifth or something to hold that name," Ryan said. "But when we talked to Miss Krishnamani, she said they never dated."

"Then how do they know each other?" Beckett said.

"They attended classes together at NYU, he was a year behind Krishnamani and her fiancé," Esposito answered. "They were all art majors, but it seems Carisbrooke was obsessed with her after they studied together for an art history class. He never did anything, but he tried to get her to break off her engagement when she told Carisbrooke about it. He said that she was his _mamounia_ and she belonged with him."

"When was that?" Beckett asked.

"Six months ago," Ryan said. "He knew the other three vics in some capacity… do you want to know?"

"Go ahead, I know he's dead and can't harm me, so I'd like to wrap up this case," Beckett said simply.

"Okay, so he knew Ophelia Meyer from NYU, not the classes she was currently taking for her art major," Ryan continued. "But from when she was getting her accounting major. They had a history class together. Then there's Francis Kelly, who he knew from what's listed as his current address to his real name. Her mother lives on the same floor."

"Oh god, have you talked to her?" Beckett asked, feeling horrible for the vic's mother.

"We have, and she actually only saw him, didn't really know him besides his name, who his family was," Esposito replied. "And with our last vic, he used her as a model, our witness was right. But before the witness ever met her, at an art class Carisbrooke attended at an art gallery, she was a model."

"We went to his apartment, and there are paintings of her, and it looks like the relationship wasn't just an artist and model, but sexual, there were… more suggestive paintings and corresponding photographs," Ryan said.

"And me?" Beckett asked, unsure if she wanted to hear that explanation.

Sharing a look, Ryan took a breath; noticing that Castle had tensed up slightly; and said, "We found a notebook at his apartment," handing Beckett a file.

"About me," she said, glancing at the writing.

"He chose you not because of this place, but because one night, five months ago, I think the fourteenth of January, he was arrested for drunk driving by the 12th, and the morning after he was released and he left through the lobby," Esposito said.

"So he saw her there," Castle said.

"He did, talking to you actually Castle," Ryan said. "I don't know if you want to read what he wrote, but he was likely writing down everything as he was there, because his detail is pretty meticulous."

"I don't need to read it," Beckett said simply, handing the pictures back to him. "I know what he wanted me for."

"Yeah, he said you were the one he'd been looking for, the one that would make Krishnamani very jealous, because apparently you were everything she wasn't. The word warm came up a lot," Esposito said.

Castle tried not to look at his fiancée, hoping the two wouldn't think it was because how she'd been around him.

"Obviously he's talking about you around Julia, because those are later entries," Ryan said. "And… that's about it."

"So he moved near the first two victims and me to make sure he knew our schedules," Beckett said. "To have the time to set things up and finish those paintings. So he's an artist."

"He is, but never sold anything, even under his three aliases," Esposito said. "We checked around the apartments he had, all four of them, and no one had ever heard of him. Oh, and he had posters of Mucha's prints, re-painted his works using other women we're guessing. And in the case of these four paintings, he used Krishnamani as a model."

"So he was trying to make her jealous by not using her as his muse anymore," Beckett said.

"In a way, also that he snapped pretty much," Ryan said. "He had piles of artwork in his apartment, original artwork, but he never tried selling anything."

"Likely he was going to be forced to take over the family business as CEO when his father steps down; so art was likely a hobby to his family," Castle said. "He's the oldest of three brothers, so I guess the second oldest will be taking over."

"Actually, we talked to his family. Mr. Carisbrooke, current CEO, told us that he was already giving the position to his second son, Finnegan, since it was widely known in the family that Stanley was not going to be able to run the company," Ryan said.

"Was he the black sheep of the family?" Beckett asked.

"Basically, but he was a Carisbrooke, so they protected him," Ryan replied.

"Any past incidents they told you about?" Castle said.

"If there were any, they're not telling us, actually, the youngest son was there when we spoke with Mr. Carisbrooke at his apartment at the Dakota. His name is Fergus, he became very angry when we tried to find out anything that might have pointed to his older brother being a serial killer," Esposito said.

"Not surprising," Beckett said. "What about the _Om_? Was he a practicing Hindu?"

"Not even close, atheist. But as for Miss Krishnamani, she is," Ryan said.

"He's right, she even wears a _bindi_ , though it's not really specific to the Hindu religion, a lot of women do wear it," Castle reminded them.

"So he was messing with her religion, making it very dark," Beckett said with a sigh. "How did he get into our apartments?"

"He would call the landlord with some issue, and managed to steal his skeleton key for the apartments," Esposito said. "He'd make an impression in wax and return the key before the guy left. According to your landlord, he claimed there was something wrong with a heating vent near the ceiling."

"Which gave him time to get the wax impression made," Castle said.

"And with that key he could get in anywhere he wanted," Beckett said, frowning for a moment. "Okay, thank you for letting me know what you found out."

"Not a problem, you're not coming back until Monday?" Esposito asked.

"That's right, Julia's not going to go back to school until then," Beckett said simply. "Do you guys want a drink?" she asked as she saw the others coming from Julia's room. She smiled as the little girl ran to her, hugging her tightly and picking her up.

"I thought you were weak?" Ryan asked.

"She's recovered," Lanie said simply, holding a card.

"What's that?" Esposito said as Julia handed him another card before giving another to his partner.

"For you," Julia whispered.

"A thank you card, you're very welcome Julia," Ryan said after he'd read his. "And I know Jenny says thank you too."

"Least we could do for our _sobrina_ ," Esposito said, ruffling Julia's hair to her giggle. "And actually, we're going to head out, get something to drink at The Old Haunt and then head to our homes to relax."

"Am I invited?" Castle asked, folding the card he and Beckett had helped their daughter make for him.

"Nah, we're good," Esposito said after Lanie had nudged him in the ribs.

"And I'd like you to escort me home Richard," Martha said quickly. "Which you should have asked first."

"Sorry Mother," Castle said as he watched Julia saying goodbye to the boys and Lanie.

Walking them to the door, Beckett let Lanie pull her out into the hall and they talked quickly before she shook her head before hugging her friend and saying goodbye to them as they left. "She suggested we start out a relationship with a casual date while we were in my room," she said as Castle came up to her after she'd locked the door.

"How casual?" he asked.

"Taking Julia to the playground, or getting some coffee," Beckett said.

"What did she say just now?" Castle said, seeing the smile his fiancée couldn't quite hide.

"Dinner with our parents and Julia would be a great way to begin. Especially if you stayed after they went home and she was asleep," Beckett said.

"Ah, interesting, and not a surprise she thought of that," Castle said, shaking his head.

"If only she knew what was actually going to happen then," Beckett said in a low tone as she walked past him.

"What?" Castle asked, having heard but not sure he'd heard her correctly.

Beckett didn't reply to that, and instead sat down next to Martha on the couch and said, "So we're all finished working now sweetie, I forgot to tell you."

"I'm glad, I don't want to wait for Saturday," Julia said. "Now what do we do?"

"Why don't you get your camera, and we'll take pictures of the new flowers you got," Jim suggested before he got up to follow Julia to her room.

"Are you coming home at all before Monday?" Martha asked her son.

"I doubt it, I want to be here the rest of the week for Julia," Castle said, not adding Beckett to that as he knew she wouldn't want to hear that.

"Good, a few of my students are going to come tomorrow to do some private rehearsals since they managed to get into an off Broadway play that starts Saturday," Martha said before she watched with them as Julia and Jim went to all the flowers in the kitchen. "Julia, darling, take a picture of those roses and tulips, they are gorgeous."

"I don't think sucking up to me is going to help Mother, why-" Castle started to say before he felt Beckett taking his hand. He stopped abruptly as she gently squeezed it, and he squeezed back, calming down as he thought of leaving his place to his mother.

"You're staying to dinner right? You're invited too Dad," Beckett said to quickly change the subject.

"I'm heading out tonight," Martha said simply. "My three students who will be coming to rehearse are taking me to dinner. As a thank you."

"Pretty nice," Castle said as he picked Julia up and set her on his lap since she had finished taking pictures with her grandfather. "And you Jim?"

"I'm going to Fredrickson's house for dinner, he and his wife invited me," he replied. "After the dinner last night, so you three are on your own."

"You don't want to eat with us?" Julia asked, leaning back against Castle.

"We will tomorrow, I'll order for us, and it will be my treat," Martha said.

Castle was going to comment on that, but Beckett leaned against him, and he held back, wrapping his arm around her as they let Julia show them her pictures of the flowers, explaining how she set up each shot exactly before he rubbed his hand up and down her arm.

* * *

"Do you think it's a little weird they just left the three of us alone?" Castle was saying to his fiancée as she came over to the kitchen where they were both taking care of dinner that evening.

"I think they really had other plans for dinner Castle," Beckett said, shaking her head as she picked up the colander with strawberries and poured them into a bowl. "You know they wouldn't make plans for us having dinner with them tomorrow night if they weren't serious about tonight."

"True," he said slowly. "What's she doing?" Castle then asked as he finished the last omelet he'd made for them.

"At her _barre_ , practicing for Monday already," Beckett said, helping him take everything to the coffee table.

"I'll go get her," Castle said as Beckett grabbed the last thing they needed from the kitchen counter. He went over to their daughter's room, seeing that at some point Julia must have stopped practicing ballet and was instead practicing the Foxtrot. "You'll be pretty even with the other kids I think," he said, getting her attention as she made a mistake and began to start over.

"Think so?" Julia asked.

"I do. You've got to be hungry after all the practicing you did," Castle said as he went into the room and picked her up, swinging out her legs to her cry of joy. "Let's eat."

"Have fun sweetie?" Beckett asked as she saw the two come into the living room. She smiled as Julia was set down by Castle and ran over to her.

"I practiced a little, I stopped 'cause I got tired," Julia replied to her mother's question as she picked up her fork. She smiled as Castle sat next to them on the blanket laid on the clear space on the floor. "I wish we were outside," she said.

"This is still pretty good, not every little girl is going to have a picnic for dinner," Castle pointed out as she ate a little of her omelet.

"Yeah, thank you for letting me have it," Julia said, taking the glass her mother handed her.

"It was a good idea," Beckett said. "But please be careful."

"I don't think you need to worry about her Kate," Castle said, watching them. "She's probably the neatest kid I know. And yes," he said as Julia opened her mouth to speak. "I'll include Alexis in there."

"Wasn't I messy when I was a baby?" Julia asked her mother, looking up at her.

"Of course, babies usually are," Beckett said.

"That's more because you're not really sure what's going on with that food you're being served," Castle commented, watching his fiancée and wondering why she had answered the question so easily. He made a note mentally to ask her later about that, and said to Julia, "I remember the faces Alexis would make when I fed her, she was very confused. Especially with the peas, never liked those when she was a baby."

"Usually they don't," Beckett said, kissing Julia's forehead. They ate in silence for a little longer, and she noticed that their daughter was a little more quiet than normal, and she asked, "What's wrong sweetie?"

"Does Alexis still have her mommy?" Julia said in hesitation, not looking at Castle.

"She's in Paris right now," Castle said simply.

"Oh, but…" Julia started to say, looking a little perplexed.

"He and Alexis' mother got a divorce, a long time ago when she was three," Beckett explained; since she and Castle had agreed on telling Julia that knowing it would likely come up at one point.

"And then you met my mommy?" Julia asked.

"I had another divorce before I met her," Castle explained.

"Oh," Julia repeated, looking a little unhappy at that.

"But you know, the reason for that was mainly because they were not like your mom. Nowhere near like her, and I didn't know that that was the kind of woman I wanted to be with," Castle said. "So I know your friend Jessica's parents got divorced, but that doesn't mean that I will be going through that a third time sweetheart. And I have more reasons than I ever did the last two times to make sure this marriage will work," he said, glancing at his fiancée because that was something he'd never told her; but had wanted to.

Beckett glanced down at their daughter, a little taken aback by his words, but knowing from his tone that he was serious. "He's right," she said as she realized Julia was looking at her questioningly. "We want to be together for a long time and make sure we stay a family for that long too."

"Good," Julia said seriously and with a firm nod, earning her smiles from them. "Can we listen to music after dinner?"

"You want to play a game while we do?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, but I want to get music for your wedding," Julia said in a matter of fact tone. "It's okay right?" she said, suddenly looking doubtful of herself.

"We trust you sweetie," Beckett said. "Finishing eating though okay?" She kissed Julia's forehead when she nodded and glanced at Castle, seeing the look in his eyes as he watched them. It reminded her to have her conversation with him later, but for the time being she turned her attention back to their daughter, as she eagerly told them about the songs she had thought of for them already.

* * *

"Mommy, can I ask you a question?" Julia said as she waited for her mother to sit behind her to brush her hair.

"You can," Beckett said as she took out the braid that she'd put in the little girl's reddish brown hair that morning.

"What… what do you feel like when you love someone like you love Castle?" Julia hesitatingly queried.

"Oh, I think I should go, that sounds like a mother-daughter question," he said as he'd come to the doorway right as she'd asked

"No, I think it applies to us both," Beckett said, gesturing him inside. "Well, it's a little hard to answer that exactly. Love is a little unexplainable, that's why so many people write songs about it."

"But they say different things," Julia protested.

"I know, but it's different for each person. What you feel for one person isn't going to be the same for another," Beckett said. "That's what dates are for, to see if you feel something for the person you're with." She let Castle take Julia's brush back to her dresser and let the little girl climb onto her lap. "But let me try again. You know there are different kinds of love."

"Yeah, how mommies and daddies love their kids," Julia said with a nod. "And then how mommies and daddies love each other. That one I wanna know about."

"You're not dating someone at school are you?" Castle asked as he sat on the edge of the bed in front of them.

"Ew, no, I don't wanna," Julia said, wrinkling her nose.

"Okay, to explain quickly sweetie since it's past your bedtime; you feel excited when you're with the person you love, or you'll be protected if you need to be, you feel safe. But one important thing is you can't stop thinking about them. You want to be with them, and share your life with them," Beckett said, not realizing her tone of voice had gotten tenderer as she'd gone on, though Castle and Julia did.

"You want to be with them forever and ever," Julia stated.

"Your mom's right, if you really love someone; you can't really face the idea of not being with them; it hurts to even consider it," Castle said. "And like she said, you're incredibly happy to be with them."

"It sounds like it's nice," Julia said.

"It is, and I am so glad you said you were too little," Beckett said, tearing her gaze away from her fiancé to tickle their daughter and kiss her cheek. "Okay, I think that was a pretty good explanation, so it's time for bed sweetie."

"Kay, thank you for letting me get more songs," Julia said as she was handed over to Castle.

"I didn't think you'd want to go through all The Beatles' albums, but I expected you'd want to listen through every last song Paul and George have," he said as the little girl giggled. "But you have a pretty nice list so far."

"Are you gonna tell Alexis about your song?" Julia asked eagerly, not letting go of his neck when he set her on her bed.

"When we talk to her tomorrow," Castle promised as he hugged her. "Come on, into bed with you," he said, using a slight British accent. When she finally let go of him he shared a kiss with her and then kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Julia, I love you."

Nodding, Julia hugged her mother when she went to her and said, "Night Mommy, I love you."

"I love you sweetie, sweet dreams," Beckett said, sharing a kiss with her before she tucked her in. She and Castle waited in the doorway for Julia to fall asleep as they usually did, but that time she took his wrist to lead him away from the closed door. "We need to talk," she said simply when they were in the living room.

"I know," Castle said simply, not surprised in the slightest. "Just… let me make some coffee."

When he went to the kitchen at her nod of agreement, Beckett sat on the couch, picking up the list on the coffee table that Julia had started as they'd played The Beatles Monopoly that Castle had bought for their daughter the month before. "I'm not sure about some of these songs," she said, wanting to ease her fiancé into their conversation and make sure he was relaxed.

"I don't know, they're pretty romantic," Castle said, finishing the first cup and getting the second started.

" _I've Got My Mind Set On You_? That's mouthful to say, and a little…" Beckett began.

"Well, I'm not sure about the money lyric, but you want every dance to be slow?" Castle asked.

"No, but we'll talk about that another time," Beckett said as he walked over to her then. She took the mug he was holding out to her, and she said, "Are you okay?"

"Not really," Castle said with a sigh as he didn't want to lie to her. "I'm exhausted, and really don't want to sleep again."

"Okay," Beckett said with a nod. "But there's something else I'm worried about."

"What?" Castle asked in surprise.

"If I told you I wanted you, right this second, what would you say?" Beckett asked him. She saw the slight hesitation and nodded saying, "That's how I was after Queens, but I'm a little confused what exactly your concern is."

"I'm afraid of doing what he would have if he'd had the chance," Castle said.

"You do realize that he would have raped me," Beckett said, putting her hand on his arm. "And I honestly don't think he would have managed it."

"No but… since Queens I've had a fear that I would go too far when we were intimate, that I would hurt you," Castle said, hesitating to get the right words to explain.

"And yet you haven't," Beckett pointed out. She set down her coffee and took his mug to put it on the table too, turning back to him to take his hands in hers. "I don't know how I looked when you found me Castle, but I am alive, I am here."

Looking down at their tightly clasped hands, he nodded, and then pulled her into his arms, making her sit on his lap. "I know you are, but I can't stop asking myself what if this happens again?" Castle said. He heard Beckett inhale quickly before she spoke, but he was quick to stop her saying, "It's a question that can't be answered I know. It's why I said what I did when we talked to Julia, and I ended up realizing that since I can't answer the question, I need to make sure I don't let it stop me from enjoying my life with you Kate; with you and Julia."

Pulling away enough to look at him, Beckett cupped his face in her hands and said, "You and I are both in agreement then. And I'm glad that you decided that because when I said I wanted you; I wasn't kidding."

Shuddering at that; though he'd already had the suspicion that she was feeling that way; Castle closed the gap between them and kissed her, wanting her badly as well, but for some reason there was still that image of her laying on the block of ice; looking as if she was dead; that was making him hesitate. He kissed her harder, hoping that would help get rid of it as she slid her fingers over the back of his head to hold him tight to her as their tongues met in his mouth.

While Castle and Beckett were talking, Julia suddenly woke up, unsure what time it was. She looked around her groggily, seeing her Stitch doll was laying next to her. She yawned, and realized her mouth was dry and knew then that was the reason she'd woken up. She got of her bed, and padded to the door, opening it slowly. Not hearing anything, she guessed her mother and Castle were in bed, so she went to the door to the living room, stifling a gasp as she saw they were in a heavy kiss. She blushed at catching them, but needed water badly. So she decided to chance it, and crept out, ducking behind an armchair before tiptoeing to the kitchen. But before she got to the chairs in front of the counter, there was a surprised; "Julia!" and she froze in place, trying not to move.

"Sweetie, are you thirsty?" Beckett asked as she walked over. She smiled when Julia just looked up at her with wide eyes and she picked the little girl up, kissing her cheek saying, "You should have called us so you wouldn't have to get out of bed."

"Sorry," Julia said as she took the glass of water that Castle brought to her. She took a few sips as Beckett carried her to her room and said, "I thought you went to bed too 'cause it was quiet."

"We will after we get you tucked back in," Beckett said, not looking at Castle. She handed him the glass before she got Julia into bed, and they kissed her goodnight before leaving; their daughter falling asleep quickly that time; and she watched as he went down to the hall to her room. "Castle," she said simply to make him stop.

"Sorry," he said quickly as she walked up to him.

Studying the expression on his face, Beckett took his hand and pulled him to her room saying, "You were close to bringing me here before you noticed her weren't you?"

"It's been a long time since I've had to shift from being a lover to a parent in only seconds," Castle explained. "But, since she's set for the night; I'm hoping; come here."

Beckett shook her head, as that wasn't really a command, but left enough room for her to protest. She watched him lock the door behind them before he turned to her, grabbing her around the waist. She was a little surprised when he didn't kiss her, instead just held her to him. "Okay?" she asked as his hands started to run up and down her back.

"Let me…" Castle started to say before he trailed off. He then said firmly, "Let me just feel you Kate."

Though she had a feeling that was what he'd wanted, Beckett pulled back and looked into his eyes, cupping his cheeks saying, "You will Castle, you will."

Leaning down at the tone of her voice, he kissed her then, and felt her arms wrap around his neck as he laid his hands flush on her back. Castle pulled her against him, feeling their bodies meet and he groaned in slight frustration at the clothing that was shielding them completely from one another. He let that kiss go on for a while, crazily devouring her lips as she was crying out against him before she pulled away. He couldn't stop himself, going to her neck, sucking at her racing pulse before she made him pull away from her.

"Hurry," Beckett said, suddenly impatient. She helped him with her clothes, not surprised when he wouldn't stop touching her, running his hands over her bare skin as more and more of it was revealed to him, but each touch set her literally on fire and by the time they'd finished casting off his clothing, she wasn't sure how she wasn't going crazy.

Following her onto the bed, Castle kissed her before her head could go back on the pillow bellow her. But he kept it quick, only pulling back to breathe so he could speak. He had been planning to ask her a question, but looking at her, he realized he didn't need to, and looking over her body said, "I love you."

Not surprised by that, or his tone which seemed to include that he was relieved she was okay, Beckett cupped his cheek and as he pressed a single kiss to her palm she whispered, "I love you too Castle." She looked on as he went to her pendant, kissing the hollow of her throat that it was resting on. Trembling slightly as his kisses continued on down to her breasts, she wasn't too amazed when he only brushed his lips against her there. She knew he still wanted to feel her, wanted to reassure himself and move on from what happened, so she stroked the back of his head as he descended further. She bit her lower lip as he reached the junction of her legs, a little surprised when he pulled away before he could do anything there. "You-" she said as he helped her to sit up suddenly.

Kissing the back of her left shoulder to stop her, Castle almost forgot why he'd had her do that. But he felt the end of her braid brush against his cheek, so he reached up and pulled off the band holding it. Very carefully, he loosened the strands of the braid, and as soon as her hair was loose, he buried his nose into her locks murmuring that he loved her though he knew she wouldn't be able to hear him.

Though she couldn't hear what he was saying exactly, Beckett could understand the sentiment easily, and she felt her body reacting in more ways than one. Her heart was beating frantically, she was desperately aroused and throbbing, and every inch of her skin felt hyper-sensitive. So much so that when he flicked his tongue out to her shoulder he'd kissed, she had to wonder why she wasn't screaming her reaction as it was like a sharp bolt of electricity that rushed through her from head to toe. At that point Castle was kissing her, then brushing his tongue after, with her knowing he was tasting her. Her breathing became a pant very easily, as she knew he was doing that because; as he'd said earlier; he wanted to feel her.

Castle was by no means unaffected by his ministrations over his fiancée's back, and he wondered why he wasn't just throwing her down to the bed to take her until she begged him to stop. But that was where he realized he was very much different from men like the killer; they took without consent and he didn't want anything but her consent. He wanted her to need him as much as he needed her. And with that he moved to press up close behind her. "Tell me what you want," he whispered to her before she turned her head to him, kissing him deeply.

"The same thing that you do," Beckett whispered against his lips when they had parted to breathe. "To feel you," she said as she moved his hand that was wrapped around her stomach to the junction of her legs.

Pulling away as he repressed a shudder of pleasure at her words, Castle quickly laid Beckett on her back, not too surprised when he lay on top of her that their hips met. He kissed her hard and fast once before he moved back to watch her as they coupled together then, very slowly.

Biting at her lower lip hard, Beckett wrapped her arms around Castle tightly as he remained stationary once he was inside of her. She responded to his kiss easily as he coaxed her tongue into a short fight before they lost the urge and instead rolled around one another. They parted and she couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her parted lips as he proceeded to move. As she'd thought would happen, he was very slow and deliberate, when he was close enough she felt him trying to press against the apex of her legs, making her squeeze her eyes shut tightly in pleasure at the sensation. She pulled him down to her and their foreheads pressed together tightly as they let their breath mix between them. She had proceeded to move shortly after she could feel his rhythm, and easily sensed him faltering for a brief moment before he kissed her. If he hadn't done that, she would have smiled as she knew that kiss was for him to get back to his pace.

Feeling himself back in control, Castle moved to her neck, brushing his lips against both sides before he went down to her breasts. He felt her shiver as his hand came up to cup her left mound, his breath heavy against her nipple. He kissed around it gently, carefully, before he felt her fingers sliding through his hair until her nails raked over his scalp. He was spurred on to suckle at it, using his hand to stimulate her other breast in the meantime. They were still moving together, and he groaned as she moved her legs from having been wrapped around his legs to sliding high up his sides. He found himself moving deeper inside her, hearing her slight cry in response the first time he did that. He moved to her other breast, spending as much time as he felt he needed to there. Finally he made himself pull away, and he went to her lips, kissing her gently before she took the initiative and kissed him harder.

Beckoning his tongue into her mouth and gently curling hers around it once he was there, Beckett could feel his hand on her side, running up and down her slowly. She moaned into his mouth, knowing that was him feeling her yet again, and she ran her nails over his back in response, trying to feel him too. She shivered for a moment as he pulled away, nipping at her lower lip. She forced her eyes open then, to find him staring intently at her, and she reached up to his lower lip, running her thumb very slowly along it until he caught it between his teeth, setting her heart racing at the highly intense expression on his face.

Castle reached up and held her hand with his own as he slid his lips along her palm, feeling her hand trembling underneath him. He looked back to her, watching her as he went down to her wrist. There he nipped at her skin, feeling her jump slightly in response before he soothed the gentle bite with his lips and tongue. He had to control her a little then, as she suddenly started to arch her back and try to thrust harder against his hips. He held the side of her right hip, helping her back into the pace he'd set, and he decided they needed a slight distraction, since he knew she was also likely close. So he slowed down until stopping, watching as his fiancée's chest moved up and down with her breath. He moved then, sitting up on the bed with her straddling his lap as he pulled her down to his lips for a kiss at the same time. He wasn't too surprised when she started to move, and he let her, as the shock from him stopping was a little too much.

Stroking the back of his head as they moved together, Beckett found she had the chance to do things a little differently. She rolled her hips against him, watching with him as they both looked down at their joined bodies. But she wasn't sure if he could see much more than her, not that it mattered, they could still feel one another. She felt his hands on the small of her back, squeezing a little tightly, and she brushed her lips against him as she squeezed her thighs tighter around him suddenly. Leaning against him, she kept her lips close to him, so they brushed together as she whispered, "Now you can feel me."

Shuddering as her voice was husky at that point, Castle moved to kiss her, letting his hands roam her back before he grasped her ass gently. Her moan bursting into his mouth and sudden jerk made him speed up though he hadn't wanted to do that. He calmed himself down by returning his hands to the small of her back, and he pulled away to watch her, before it became too much and he moved her again.

Feeling her back on the cool sheets again, Beckett wrapped her legs around him tightly, as he leaned his head down enough to press kisses over her breasts. She moaned slightly, arching her back enough so he would have better access to them, not surprised as he hungrily took her left nipple into his mouth. Closing her eyes tightly as he proceeded to suckle at her, she ran her hand over the back of his head, biting on her lower lip a little hard before she slid her right leg further up his side. She nearly had it underneath his arm, before he raised his head and ran his hand down the side of her thigh.

Pulling away from her completely, Castle wasn't too surprised by the sound of protest that his fiancée made, but he didn't stop. Running his palm along her skin had been too much, and he needed more than just a simple touch. He pressed his lips along her leg, before he decided not to waste more time, sliding it down until he reached her foot. He heard her writhing a little as he let his tongue out a little, rubbing it against her skin. When he did the same to her toes, he expected the short cries that kept escaping her mouth, and hurried to do the same to her other foot before he allowed himself to travel back up her body as he'd gone down it. When he was even with her face, he saw her panting, and realized she was holding herself rigid, making him a little concerned. "Okay?" he asked.

Not responding, Beckett sat up and wrapped her arms around him tightly as she kissed him hard. She was pleased when he responded quickly, matching her ardor as he laid her back on the bed. A little startled when he pulled apart from her, she watched as he brought her right leg in between them, looking at her. She quickly wrapped her other leg around his waist as she knew that look was to see if it was alright to continue, and she was tense again. But that time it was because he was sliding inside of her, and with her leg pressed up against his chest, he was at a different angle, and deeper than before. She was breathing hard, and arched her back as he proceeded to move, making her moan out something she had no idea what it was. When he glanced down at her, she reached up to cup his face with her hand, trembling at his lips that brushed along her skin instantly. " _Castle_ …" she whispered, feeling their hips rolling together for an instant in their thrusts, before they were starting again. Going from the bottom of their hips up to their waists, she bit her lower lip when he moved his hand to them, stroking in time as they moved.

Taking Beckett's leg and wrapping it around his side, Castle was reminded why neither of them were the biggest admirers of the positions that kept them at a distance from each other as he kissed her hungrily. Her lips were trying to devour his at the same time, and they groaned together as they were almost fighting each other, trying to be the more dominant one; as would sometimes happen. But eventually she allowed him to take over, but only briefly before he was giving her the impetus to lead him. He was nearly tearing himself away from her mouth to give himself the air he desperately needed, and he was breathing roughly against her lips. "You… you're too much Kate," he whispered as he went to her ear, nibbling at it gently before he grunted at her nails digging a little into his back. "And I want a lot more," he said as he moved back to look at her, and once he could, reached up to brush his fingers along her pendant as they stared at one another.

Her heart was pounding, and it seemed like her body was not going to stop aching, but Beckett didn't want it to end. She slid her hand up to the back of Castle's head, and then drew him to her lips for a chaste kiss that was a little of a shock to their still swollen lips from before. She then guided him easily to her breasts, stroking the back of his head as he was careful to take them gently, tenderly. It all seemed to rush over her at once, and she was suddenly struck absolutely still for an intense second before the pleasure centered where he was joined with her washed over her skin, over her blood, over every inch of her until she would wonder if she had passed out for a short time at the intensity of that orgasm after her short but concentrated cry of his name. But if she had, she was brought back to consciousness in time to feel Castle pressing against her tightly, groaning her name repeatedly against her neck until they were calming down together, at nearly the same time.

For a long time the room was quiet after having the sounds of their lovemaking pressing against the walls and echoing into the corners. The two were able to eventually recover, and soon after they were lying on their backs, Castle's arm underneath his fiancée's neck, their right hands joined together as he held up her left hand. They were silent for a while as they watched the lights, still on in the room, dancing over the diamonds in Beckett's ring as he turned her hand back and forth slowly.

"We keep doing that, I really think it will take care of those nightmares," Castle commented.

"Hmm, I don't think they take care of those," Beckett said, shaking her head before he set her left hand down on his chest. "But tell me what you saw last night, you never did."

"It was basically you on the ice, but he was climbing onto you. It went kind of dark there, which is really great, because the sounds I heard…" Castle said, squeezing his eyes together tightly in remembrance. He felt Beckett's hand on his cheek and reached up to take it, squeezing it tightly before he turned his head to kiss her temple. "But I woke up and you were with me, asleep but you could move," he said as he remembered.

"And now you know I'm here still with you Castle," Beckett said as she entwined their fingers together as they watched. "You definitely felt me tonight."

"I did," Castle said. "Don't hit me, but the sounds in my nightmare were you screaming in pain and I… really enjoyed hearing you screaming tonight because you wanted me," looking at her to see if she was angry.

Quiet at that, Beckett then looked at him and smiled saying, "Keep that sound in your mind and your dreams might be a lot better."

"Whew, if that happened I wonder if I'd want to wake up," Castle said.

"I don't know," Beckett said, turning to him and laying half on his chest. "I think that reality would be a lot better than dreams," she then dropped into a whisper as she leaned down and kissed him sensuously but briefly.

The two soon became lost in one another, and made love again, though they were a little rougher that time. So much so that when they calmed down fully, they were still covered in a thin sheen of sweat as they pressed close together. The room was silent again, until Castle broke the sounds of the city outside that faintly made their way to them.

"I was tempted," he stated simply, trying to see if she would want to hear.

"Tempted to do what?" Beckett asked him, looking at him.

"To take you, Julia and our parents to San Francisco, have Alexis pick us up and drive to City Hall," Castle said, watching her closely to see what she would say.

"I would have been fine with that if you suggested it," Beckett said seriously.

"I had that same thought when we were in the crash; that I was going to lose the chance to spend the rest of my life with you. And I didn't want to face it for a second time," Castle explained. "I'm tired of being worried we're not going to make it to that point, so I would have said let's get married and damn the consequences. But, I don't want a quick ceremony with you; it needs to be something we plan out together and something Julia and Alexis can be involved with too; and my mom and your dad."

"I'm touched you want to wait," Beckett said, wondering in the back of her mind if he was also trying to delay a little more.

"The election is pretty much right around the corner. I'm sure Gates will request her help in kicking me out if she's elected, so we'll be able to get married then," Castle said.

They were both quiet before Beckett asked, "Would you ask me to walk away?"

"No," Castle said, knowing already what she was talking about without her being specific. "Do you really think I could ask you that?"

"You've seen me nearly dead before this Castle; it never came to your mind to tell me to choose between my job and you?" Beckett said.

"I have no right to ask," he said firmly as he turned a little to lie on his side and wrap his arms around her. "You were with the NYPD before I met you, a long time before that, so it's a question I would never voice." He studied her then, and asked, "Have you thought about that?"

"I was thinking about what you said about thinking you'd lost me," Beckett said, not looking at him. "And this case, how it took me from Julia when I should have really been there for her."

Castle was quiet for a minute and said, "You keep considering it."

"I know, but I'm back and forth whether I'm serious or joking when I do that," Beckett said. "I was really serious after realizing that my daughter nearly lost me yet again." She sighed as Castle hugged her closer to him and said, "But I'll be going back on Monday, and for the time being I'm not considering resigning."

Not saying anything to that, Castle kissed her gently before he pulled back and looked at her seriously before saying, "It's up to you and only you Kate, but I know whatever you decide, it will be for the right reason."

Smiling a little at that, Beckett kissed his jaw back up towards his ear before he spoke, making her look back at him. She let her smile grow a little wider and said, "I'm tired of being a victim Castle," since he'd asked if she was okay. "And I know every time I let myself remember, I lose my ability to keep going and concentrate on what's more important to me; who's important to me."

"Hopefully I'm one of those people," Castle said. He couldn't help laugh slightly at the nudge into his side from her elbow, and he grabbed her, pulling her close for a tender kiss before she lay on top of his chest, his hand stroking her hair gently as she stroked his lower lip slowly with the tips of her fingers.

Beckett suddenly got up and got out of bed after they'd been looking at each other for a while, grabbing her pajamas and his, tossing his in his face as he was sitting up. She smiled at his splutter of surprise and said, "We should get dressed."

"No need to," Castle said, though he was already getting dressed. "The door is locked."

"I know, but I don't want to run around trying to get dressed before she worries about us if she tries to come in," Beckett said, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she walked to the bed. She was a little surprised when Castle suddenly grabbed her, pulling her onto the bed before he kissed her as soon as she was sitting on his lap. Her little gasp disappeared into his mouth, and she could almost feel his joy in that kiss. She kissed him back, but gently slid her tongue into his mouth before they were parting. "We have tomorrow," she said, wanting to remind him of that in case his mind would go back to the night before.

"We do," Castle said, letting her then make him lay down before he got on his side behind her, holding her close.

Turning her head back to him, Beckett kissed him gently, pleased when he responded in kind. When they stopped, she squeezed his hand that was on her abdomen, and closed her eyes, letting herself drift off to see what her dreams would develop into; not the least bit ashamed that she was hoping a little desperately for a repeat of that night she and her fiancé had spent occupied alone.

Pulling Beckett close against him when he felt her relax, Castle pressed his lips to the side of her head a few times before putting his head on his pillow to let her sleep. He was thinking about what she had said, and the knowledge that they did have tomorrow, made his worry over losing her ease slightly, which was a relief. He felt a sudden surge of love for her, remembering her touch that night. She had been calming him as they'd been together, reminding him that they were together. He kissed the side of her head one last time, and held her firmly as he closed his eyes finally. His last thought before he sank into the easy darkness of sleep was that he would do whatever it took to make sure that she was by his side; always.


	13. Epilogue- Often In Your Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song The Answer's at the End by George Harrison, from his album Extra Texture (Read All About It).

"Now what do I do?" Julia was asking as Castle set the last item on the tray in the kitchen.

"You can wake her up," he replied as he knew she had been wanting to since they'd started making breakfast. "Don't forget your flowers," Castle said quickly as he got them from the counter.

"Thank you," Julia said as she ran to him to take them. She beckoned him down to her and when he was close enough, kissed his cheek quickly before hurrying to Castle's room; she and her mother staying there the night before. She slowed down inside the bedroom, seeing her mother was still asleep and on her side, facing away from her. She padded over the carpet, trying to be as quiet as possible before she reached the other side. "Mommy," she whispered, touching her arm through the covers.

At the sound, Beckett's eyes blinked opened quickly and she looked at her daughter, a little worried before she saw that Julia had a wide smile on her face. "Morning sweetie, how come you're up?" she asked as she sat up when the little girl started to climb up on the bed.

"'Cause it's Mother's Day," Julia said a little shyly. "This is for you Mommy. I bought it all by myself for you," she then said, her tone serious as she handed her mother the little vase of lilies of the valley and lilacs.

"Oh Julia, these are beautiful," Beckett said tenderly, touched at her daughter's gesture. "And you painted the vase yourself I see," she said when she saw the light blue vase had a green pattern on it. "Is that why you went with Castle to that place without me?"

"Yeah," Julia said, nodding her head. She watched as Beckett set the vase on the nightstand before gathering her up in her arms. She hugged her mother back tightly, snuggling into her embrace and feeling safe and warm as she always did. "I love you Mommy," she said, looking up at her. She became a little concerned when she saw the tears in Beckett's eyes and asked worriedly, "Are you sad or happy?"

"Very happy, and I love you Julia, so much," Beckett said, kissing her daughter's temple. She got her emotions under control and then said, "What's Castle doing?"

"He's waiting for the right time to serve breakfast," he said, coming into the room then with the tray in his hands. "Happy Mother's Day, I'm judging by the expression on your face Julia started it out pretty nicely."

"She did," Beckett said with a smile as she looked at the flowers next to them. "Am I eating on my own?" she asked as Julia moved so Castle could set the tray on her lap.

"No, but I can't bring everything at once," he answered.

"Do you need me to help?" Julia asked.

"Stay with your mom, I can handle the last two plates," Castle said, starting to turn to go. He was a little startled when Beckett grabbed his hand and he leaned over as she was pulling on the sleeve of his robe before they kissed. He had to wonder what their daughter was looking at then, but forgot about that as he and Beckett parted slowly and he looked into his fiancée's eyes, feeling a thrill go through him as they were half lidded in desire.

Opening her right eye just enough to see shapes in front of her, Julia whispered, "Can I look now?"

"Yes," Beckett laughed softly. "Did you help him with breakfast?"

"Yeah, he let me help with pancakes," Julia said quickly. "I told him to make them with lots of strawberries 'cause those are your favorites."

"He knows, but thank you for reminding him," Beckett said, running her hand over the back of Julia's head. "Are you excited for today?"

"Yes, but you need to be," Julia said, a slight frown on her face at that.

"I am, don't worry I am," Beckett replied. "But," she continued. "While this is Mother's Day, I want you to know I'm celebrating you too sweetie, because without you I would not be a mother."

Smiling shyly at that, Julia stood up on the bed and hugged her mother around the tray, kissing her cheek noisily before Castle came in.

"Hey come on, no standing on the bed," he said teasingly as Julia giggled and got on her knees again. "Sit down straight, or the chocolate's going to go all over the place," he told her as he handed her a plate, he went around to his side, sitting next to his fiancée before they began to eat.

"No paper?" Beckett asked with a smile after a while.

"I don't want to be rude," Castle said as they heard a noise coming from Julia.

"Sorry," Julia said sheepishly as she took the strawberry she was getting chocolate sauce off of out of her mouth.

"Eat the strawberry too," Beckett said in a slightly firm tone of voice. "So how are you with your book?" she directed to Castle.

"I'm okay," he began slowly. "I haven't written since last Friday, but rereading where I left off I know where I want to go next with things."

"Any closer to the end?" Beckett asked.

"Not really, I might have to go back and rewrite the beginning with Nikki arriving at the Hamptons. The opening isn't doing it for me," Castle said.

"Can I ask something?" Julia then piped up as the two were silent.

"Go ahead," Beckett said as they turned to her.

"When can we go to the Hamptons?" Julia asked.

"In a few weeks," Castle said. "Are you excited to go?"

"Yeah, I like the beach, it's right outside my window," Julia said happily.

"That was a great room to put her in," Beckett said. "Why didn't Alexis take one of those rooms?"

"Well it's only a beach house, and she's mostly outside when we go," Castle said with a shrug. "Same with my mom, though with her it was because her windows face west, so she won't get the sun in the mornings. I was thinking Julia."

"About what?" the little girl asked.

"When your mom and I get married, the beach house will be yours too, not just mine," Castle said.

"Really?" Julia asked, eyes a little wide.

"That's what happens when you become a family," Beckett said, wondering why that had startled her almost as much as it had their daughter. But she realized that she hadn't thought of that part of when she and Castle got married, since she hadn't been thinking that much about his possessions that she would partly have as his wife.

"Okay?" Castle asked when his fiancée suddenly shook.

"Yeah, sorry, just got a chill," Beckett said, pushing aside the quick shock hearing herself referring to herself as his wife. She had never really done that before, more comfortable using the phrase when they were married still. "What were you going to say after that?" she asked to keep him from worrying about her.

"You can decorate your room however you want sweetheart," Castle said to their daughter. "Actually, you can check out the room next door, see if you like that one better."

"No, I like that one, it's close to your room and the stairs and the door outside," Julia said quickly.

"No surprise there," Beckett said with a smile.

"You know that applies to our room," Castle said.

"How much could I decorate it?" Beckett asked slyly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Um, oh boy, I should have thought of that before I spoke," Castle said, looking concerned though he was only kidding.

"I don't want to change everything Castle," Beckett said simply. Smiling since their daughter was watching them and looking to be very close to laughing. "I would like to add some things of mine to decorate the room. But there is one thing I'd like to do that we'd need to agree on." When he shrugged after she paused, she then said, "The walls."

"Ah, yeah, that was my designer, she said purple and yellow evoked Rome… I think the emperors which made it masculine," Castle said.

"And you went along with it?" Beckett asked.

"Pretty much, really, I could have cared less since it was a summer home. But you know, since it's not going to be entirely my room anymore," Castle said. "I think you're right, the Lakers colors need to go."

"I didn't even think about that," Beckett said, laughing slightly as she held her hand up to her lips. "Did you?"

"Not until just now," Castle said slowly, not surprised when Julia laughed out loud. "What color or colors should we use?" he asked her.

A little surprised at the question, Julia bit her lower lip and said, "It's your room."

"True, then I should probably ask your mom huh?" Castle said. He smiled and reached over to ruffle her hair when she nodded seriously before looking at his fiancée.

"I think we have time to think about it," Beckett said. "In fact," she continued as Julia looked to be disappointed. "We should wait until we're actually there to talk about color choices. But I'm pretty sure I know what you'll choose."

Smiling widely, Julia said, "Yeah, the prettiest blue there is. And maybe green too."

"We'll see when we go, your mom's right," Castle said. "But that sounds like a nice color scheme. Now though, we're supposed to meet your grandfather at the museum."

"Did you manage to get the vase into your mom's room?" Beckett asked as they finished up their food.

"He did," a voice said from the doorway. The three looked up to see it was Martha, and she smiled as her son got off the bed, setting his plate on his nightstand.

"Happy Mother's Day," Castle said, kissing her cheek. "So I take it you liked the flowers?"

"I did, it was a little bit of a shock though," Martha replied. "To wake up suddenly and find the aroma of roses in your room. But it was a beautiful bouquet."

"Alexis and I picked the colors," Julia said as she hurried over to them after her mother had taken her plate. "Happy Mother's Day," she said while Martha was picking her up.

"Thank you darling and they were gorgeous roses," Martha replied. "I'll have to call Alexis later to thank her for the flowers too."

"I really wish I could have ordered her a ticket home, but unfortunately-" Castle started to say as he went to the bed to take the tray from Beckett since they were finished eating.

"She's nearing finals and she has a lot of last minute things for her classes," Martha said with a slight nod. "I know, but I'm seeing her at the end of the month, so I'm looking forward to that."

"Are you going with us or meeting us there?" Beckett asked as Castle and Julia left then with the tray and plates.

"I'll be tagging along with you. How are you doing?" Martha asked as Beckett walked up to her.

"Okay, I'm focusing on Julia, I just hope my dad will be okay," Beckett said. "I'm hoping if he and Julia go off together in the museum for a little it might help him."

"It should, I don't know who wouldn't be cheered immensely by Julia," Martha said, smiling with Beckett as they could hear the little girl laughing in the kitchen. "I should go get ready."

"I should check on them," Beckett said before they left the room. She went to Castle, who was at the sink with Julia sitting on the counter next to him. "Having fun?" she asked, seeing the water spots on the front of Julia's pajama shirt.

"Castle turned a fork the wrong way," the little girl giggled.

"And ended up getting myself more than her, so don't worry about her," Castle said.

"She needs to get dressed though," Beckett said, smiling as their daughter immediately held her arms out to her. She took her off the counter, but before she could go she grabbed the shoulder of Castle's robe, and pulled him down to her. Their kiss was gentle and quick, and as she walked away from him she ran her hand across his cheek before heading up the stairs.

Staring after her, Castle nearly dropped the plate he held in his wet hands, and he quickly turned his attention back to the sink. But he couldn't help but feel relieved that not only was Julia nearly talking as she normally did, but Beckett had come out of her near attack by the killer stronger than before. He shuddered as he couldn't help remember the fact that her kissing him was happening more often after that case, hoping she was feeling the same need to do that as he was since he didn't really want to stop doing that with her, enjoying it immeasurably.

* * *

"Okay, so we've got a lot to see," Beckett was telling Julia after they had walked into the Plaza entrance of the Met. "So you need to stay with us, and we'll all pick one collection like we always do, alright?"

"Can't we see everything like we did the first time?" Julia pleaded.

"I don't think we have time kiddo, but we should see some wonderful works still," Martha said.

"There's my dad," Beckett said, letting Julia run to him. "Hey Dad," she said, smiling as she went over to him as he was hugging his granddaughter.

"Happy Mother's Day Katie," Jim said, hugging her next. "How has it been so far," he said, asking more because Julia looked eager to tell him.

"Pretty nice, I had breakfast in bed and Julia gave me some beautiful flowers," Beckett said with a smile as her daughter hugged her. "But we have a lot to see, so we should go."

"I think," Castle said as the three walked up to him and his mother and they'd exchanged greetings. "We should look at the newest exhibit first," looking closely at his fiancée to see her reaction.

"Yes we should," Beckett said, meeting his gaze and not breaking it before they turned to go to the first floor. Eventually Julia was walking in between her grandfather and Martha, so she and Castle were alone. She turned to him saying, "I'm okay with this Castle, remember I said I wanted to come."

"I know, just making sure," he replied, squeezing her hand quickly before letting it go. They had to walk through the Greek and Roman art to get to where the Mucha exhibit was being held, but since Julia loved looking at the vases and sculptures it wasn't a wasted walk through the displays. "Good thing we cleared her camera," he commented to his fiancée as they were watching their daughter set up a shot of a sculpture of the goddess Minerva.

"I know, I have to wonder though how she's going to react seeing Mucha's art in person," Beckett said, looking over at the special exhibits room. She was surprised then when Castle placed his hand on her back for a moment, before walking to where their parents were with Julia, looking at some vases. When he walked back to her after speaking with them she said, "We're going ahead aren't we?"

"Pretty much," Castle said with a smile. He watched Beckett wave to their daughter, chuckling under his breath when Julia only briefly waved back before turning to another sculpture. They stepped into the room, and he watched Beckett closely as the first thing they saw on the opposite wall were the four seasons. He swallowed a little dryly himself as he remembered their victims, and Beckett, all as the four women in the lithographs.

Beckett squeezed her fiancé's arm, as turning to him she could tell he'd been unsettled. When he looked at her she smiled and said, "They are beautiful."

"That's true, I think we should take a closer look," Castle said with a nod. They walked together to the pictures, and as he looked at them he commented, "He was committing sacrilege, seeing these up close… Mucha was a genius."

Smiling again, as she'd hoped the actual pictures would help Castle forget about the imitation the killer had tried to present as art, Beckett leaned against him as she pointed to the picture of winter and said, "You can see the way she's holding the bird much better this way. Keeping it warm."

Glancing at her, Castle saw in that simple comment, she had put the incident behind her. He turned back to the picture, looking down it from top to bottom and said, "She must be warm, the snow looks so realistic."

"It does," Beckett said, wishing she could kiss him in that moment in the knowledge that they'd be okay.

"Mommy, we saw these on the computer!" Julia whispered as she joined them suddenly.

"I know, they're pretty aren't they?" Beckett asked.

"And tall, taller almost than you," Julia said to Castle with wide eyes.

Laughing, he picked her up so she could have a better view, and quickly asked a guard if she could take photographs of the pictures in the room. "I guess I should put you down?" he asked as the man had nodded that it was okay.

"Please, I want to take pictures of all of the pictures," Julia said eagerly.

"Just like you and your mom," Jim said as Castle was helping the little girl get all four pictures in frame before they took each one individually.

"I know, Castle's a fan too," Beckett said. "And you slightly."

"I will admit, he's a great artist," Jim said, looking troubled. When his daughter asked him what was wrong he nodded to winter and asked, "That doesn't bother you?"

"What Carisbrooke was trying to make me into was an abstract idea," Beckett said simply, glancing at Julia to see that she was closer to the pictures and hoped she couldn't hear them. "That woman in the picture? She was a model who posed for Mucha. Carisbrooke wanted to possess us and make us his by painting us. But Mucha never owned his models. So Carisbrooke was a sick, twisted man. Mucha is an artist and an amazing one too."

"Well said," Martha commented. "And this Carisbrooke must have been a poor imitator."

"Very much so," Castle said. "Should we keep going around the room?" he continued with quickly as Julia was coming back to them.

"I want to see more," Julia said excitedly. She took her mother's hand as they walked around the other posters and pictures from the artist before stopping at a set of four. "These are so pretty," she said, the set one of the different times of the day. "I know why you like him, he's good. Very good at drawing girls, they look pretty."

"Spoken like an art critic," Castle said as they went down to the next picture. When they had circled the entire room, he said, "Are we sticking together now, or splitting up?"

"Depends on where we all want to go," Beckett said as they stood outside the room, back in the Greek and Roman art. "Sweetie?"

"I wanna see the art from Asia," Julia said.

"That we could go to first," Castle commented. "Since it's on the third floor. You Kate?"

"The European art," Beckett replied. "The later time period though, and you? Let me guess, the Arms and Armor section?" She sighed when Castle nodded with an eager look on his face, and she patted his cheek before they laughed slightly, and she turned to their parents. "Dad?"

"Photographs," Jim said, smiling since he knew his daughter was aware that was where he loved to go.

"And I would love to see the Egyptian art," Martha said before anyone could ask her. "So where are we going to first?"

"Let's start on the top floor, since the Asian art is on both the second and third, and then work down to this floor again and see the Egyptian art last. For you Mother," Castle said.

"Thank you Richard," Martha said with a smile as Julia came over to her and took her hand.

Leading the way to the elevators, Castle kept finding himself reaching over to Beckett, wanting to take her hand. But he knew she wouldn't really want him to do that, unsure of who they might see there at museum; or who might see them. But he wanted to point out to her that them all being dressed up pointed to the fact that they had gone together; since she'd wanted to use the story that they had met there unexpectedly in case that happened. Though he couldn't really touch her in any way, he consoled himself with watching her a few times, until she turned to him as Julia was looking at a green basin that looked like a cloisonné bracelet.

"Castle," Beckett said as he turned to a jade carved figurine, not looking at her. "I'm wondering if I should ever wear a dress again," she whispered as she pretended to need to lean over against him to look at the figurine in more detail. "If you keep doing that."

"No, I can control it, but you know, I told you that you looked great," Castle said quickly.

Smiling as he was sincere in his tone, Beckett stood up straight and tossed her hair over her shoulder as she walked over to the next items. "To be honest, I didn't choose this dress, Julia and I picked ours out for each other as she begged me to do," she told him when her fiancé was standing next to her.

"She likes doing that," Castle said in amusement. "Well, that's another possible career she could have if she doesn't dance."

"Like that'll happen," Beckett said under her breath, wryly.

"I know, but she made a great choice," Castle said, eyeing her pale blue dress that hugged her body in places that made him realize he probably shouldn't stare at while they were out in public. "And you know you did too."

"Thank you, that was the only dress I could get her to take much interest in," Beckett said, shaking her head with a smile as she could remember the shopping trip easily. "So it kind of defeated the purpose."

"Or it made your picking something for her ridiculously easy," Castle pointed out. He squeezed her hand before he went to their daughter, picking her up as she was looking at a carving of a water buffalo with a boy next to it. "Having fun?"

"Yeah, I'm taking lots of pictures," Julia said with a smile. She then grew serious and asked, "Do you like seeing this?"

"I do, don't worry, we'll see the section I chose soon enough," Castle said as he walked to the next room after the others. He smiled when Julia saw a box with a dragon on it and watched her take a picture. He kissed her temple and held her as they walked through that room and when they got to the next one, set her down quickly as he knew that it was her favorite; the room containing robes. He looked to see his fiancée looking at one that was white, and he went to her saying in a low voice, "I like yours a lot better."

"I know, and so do I," Beckett said. She then whispered something to him and when he looked at her with wide eyes she merely smirked a little before walking away, knowing she definitely had his attention with her demand for her final request for the day that only he was going to be able to fulfill.

* * *

"I have to say, you have to admire a painting of horses," Martha was saying, walking up to Beckett where she was standing in front of the painting of a horse fair. "Especially with them in motion."

"I know, I always wished I could sketch when I was younger, watching the horses at the stables my mom and I rode at, there was a lot of raw power in their movements," Beckett replied, looking at the painting. "And I wanted to draw that but, never was that good." She glanced to the side to look for Julia, but saw she was with her dad when Martha spoke, getting her attention.

"He's in the next room from this one," she said, smiling at Beckett's surprise. "Go, we were planning to take Julia with us anyway."

Smiling and squeezing her arm in thanks, Beckett walked through the room, glancing only for a moment at the paintings, before reaching her fiancé in the next room over from where his mother had thought he was. "You got pretty far ahead," she said as she neared him in front of a painting that looked like a castle.

"I did, I wanted to let you have a second with them," Castle said.

"Is something wrong?" Beckett asked, knowing he was lying.

"Just wishing Alexis was here," Castle said. He was a little surprised when Beckett took hold of his arm, leaning against him, and he glanced around for a moment before covering her hand with his own. "But she's almost done with school; I'm hoping at least I'll get to see her for Father's Day."

"Who knows," Beckett said with a slight smile as she immediately got an idea hearing that. "Maybe you will." She wanted to say more, but Julia suddenly came into the room and she and Castle turned around, letting go of him as a couple was entering the room behind their daughter. "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked as she reached them.

"Can we go see the pictures now?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Yes, we're close enough already," Beckett said, since they'd gone through pretty much the entire section she'd picked out. She saw that her dad and Castle's mother were walking up to them, and said, "We'll head to the photographs now, someone's pretty eager to go."

"Which is a surprise," Castle said as they headed to the first room. "Since you can't take pictures of them."

"That's okay, I like looking at them," Julia said simply.

Surprised when their daughter let go of hers and Castle's hands, Beckett watched the little girl go back to her grandfather and she smiled, knowing she had done that because they shared a love of photography. She felt fingers brushing against hers and she bit at her lower lip for a moment as they walked into the darker room and she paused, letting the others take the lead before she decided to chance it, slipping her hand into his.

A little startled that she'd taken his hand, Castle squeezed hers gently as they walked up to Julia and Beckett's dad who were looking at a photograph of a column in the fog. "We should go ahead," he commented.

"Dad, we're going to the next room," Beckett called to them. When Martha nodded, watching the two, she and Castle headed to the next room, having to go through a special exhibit room first. There they had to let go of each other, and when they reached the room they paused, looking at the first set of photographs before turning and leaving. "Well, she still got to see some new pictures," Beckett commented quickly as they went back to their family.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting largely nudity, but, I did like that first one," Castle commented.

"Was it because she was naked, or the light from the water that was reflecting off her face?" Beckett asked with a smirk.

"The light, she looked a little like she was hunched over in pain," Castle said. He saw the look on his fiancée's face and said, "Believe what you want, but I'm sticking to that."

"Okay," Beckett said simply. They had reached their parents and Julia by then, and she let Castle tell her dad about the new photographs in the other rooms. "Sweetie, I think we should head downstairs now, and check out the sections that Castle and Martha want to see."

"Kay, what first?" Julia asked eagerly, not caring they weren't going to see the other two rooms.

"The armor first," Beckett said. "Unless, Martha-"

"Oh no, no, unlike Richard, I'm patient, and the Egyptian art brings us very close to the gift shop," Martha replied.

"Are you gonna buy something?" Julia asked as they headed to the nearest staircase.

"I saw a beautiful scarf, that will be a wonderful accent and something for you," Martha replied. She smiled when Julia wrinkled her nose and asked, "You don't want it?"

"Yes, but… Mommy, Castle, is it okay?" the little girl asked them.

"It is sweetie, just as long as it's not really over the top," Beckett said, smiling at Castle's mother so she knew she was joking.

"Thank you," Julia said happily before they came to the entrance to the Arms and Amor section. She hurried over to Castle then, and as they stopped in front of a display with masks from Japan, she took a picture saying, "Why don't you and Alexis wear those?"

"Because those were to scare your enemies," Castle said. "Alexis and I only fence, which is more of a competition, not to hurt each other. Come here, I want to see the other swords again, especially the ones from the Middle East, remember the jewels on the hilt of that one?"

"Oh yeah! They're sooo pretty and they sparkle," Julia said eagerly.

Walking through the different rooms in the section, Beckett became separated from the others and was standing in front of a display in the last room before the entry to the American art section they'd walk through to go to the Egyptian art. She was looking at a shield that had a scene painted on it when someone walked up next to her. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she was a little disappointed it wasn't Castle, and was about to walk away from the man before he suddenly turned to her; making her swear in her mind at her bad luck as he proceeded to quickly chat her up.

Walking away from Castle, Julia went into the next room, and saw that her mother was talking to a man. She pursed her lips, and then hurried over to her, wrapping her arms around her mother's side as the man cut off in mid-sentence, looking down at her.

"Okay sweetie?" Beckett said, running her hand over Julia's hair.

"This is your… daughter?" the man asked.

"She is," Beckett said with a smile. She nodded as the man quickly made his excuses and left them, saying, "You know Castle might be really happy you did that."

"I am," he said suddenly behind them. "Though I don't think you needed to worry sweetheart," Castle said as Julia turned to look at him. "Your mom would have been able to take care of him. But my mom wants to go to the Egyptian art, so let's go okay?" Since Martha and Jim were ahead of them, they followed through the American art until they reached The Temple of Dendur and Julia broke away.

"Does your mom really like Egyptian art?" Beckett asked.

"She does, one of the first plays she did was _Antony and Cleopatra_ ," Castle said. "So she has a connection to Egypt as she put it; Cleopatra especially."

Looking through that room, Beckett watched their daughter closely as they came to the next, where there were sarcophagi, and wasn't surprised when Julia hurried back to them. She wasn't concerned, knowing that the little girl was not scared of them, only wary. It was only after they left behind that room after looking at another with reliefs in it that she and Castle were left alone as Julia went to Martha who was looking at some jars. "Are you going to ask?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh, I don't really care about the guy, like I told Julia, you would…" Castle started to say before he trailed off at her expression. He cleared his throat and then said, "Okay, so I was slightly jealous, but that was before I caught sight of what you were doing with your left hand."

"Rubbing my finger?" Beckett said, never losing that habit though she still wasn't wearing the ring that much; not even wearing it at that point. "Well, at least that simple action reassures you better than me saying anything," she commented wryly as they went to other exhibits.

"That and the fact that you prefer the ring there doing that," Castle said with a slight grin. He looked around them, and then quickly squeezed Beckett's hand before they followed their daughter and parents through the rest of the large section. When they were near the last room, he wasn't surprised when Beckett's dad stayed behind with Julia, but was when his mother waved them inside.

"We'll meet you at the gift shop," Jim said. "Since this is it for the Egyptian art."

"Don't buy her something extravagant Dad," Beckett said quickly.

"That means you too Mother," Castle said, before the three left and he shook his head. "Whatever she wants to buy, it'll be slightly extravagant," he commented as they went into the room, which was an offering chapel from Egypt. It was dark inside, and he could swear whenever he went into it, there was a very eerie sensation, not negative, but he knew Julia could sense it too, and didn't blame her for only looking at it from the doorway.

"I know, but the best part is, Julia's not getting things all the time," Beckett said, looking at a carved image of a man plowing with what looked like a ram in front of him. "No one here," she commented as they were surprisingly alone though there were a lot of people at the museum that day.

"We are," Castle said slowly, looking up towards the ceiling as he spoke. He smiled when Beckett playfully punched his arm, and he took that hand, squeezing it tightly. "Okay, so I'll admit it, I was more than a little jealous of that guy, you do realize that you're attractive right?" he finally said as they looked at each other.

"I would guess, you still won't stop staring at me," Beckett said, slipping her hand from his and stepping close to him. "And here I thought it was my legs you kept ogling, but it seems to be more than that."

"Hey, that dress is really nice," Castle said simply. When Beckett rolled her eyes he grabbed her upper arms and pulled her to him for a kiss. He had to make it incredibly quick, because he could hear people outside the room getting nearer. But he made the most of the time he had, plunging his tongue almost desperately into her mouth. Luckily she was right with him, and they tangled together for a moment before they hurriedly parted, and grabbing her hand, they almost ran from the room. He was frustrated, but he had to laugh at the feeling he had; as if they were a couple of teens that had been sneaking around together.

Though they weren't holding hands for too long after leaving the room, Beckett squeezed his arm as they went into the gift shop, seeing their parents with Julia. "So," she said, hoping she wasn't brazenly displaying any after affects of that rough kiss. "What have we gotten for her?"

"This Mommy, look, it looks like one of the pretty eggs," Julia said, holding up a box that was blue and shaped like an egg, decorated like a Faberge egg.

"That is pretty, is that what you wanted to get her?" Beckett directed to Martha.

"It is, I thought it would be perfect for her room," she replied.

"Don't forget to say thank you," Beckett said, kissing her daughter's temple.

"Oh don't worry, she did and many times too," Martha replied.

"Come on Julia," Castle said, holding his hand out to her. "Let's see if we can find something in the books for you." He was surprised when she tugged on his hand, pulling him over to the art supplies, but then recalled her saying she had wanted to get oil pastels. "Good thing you brought me over instead of your mom," he commented as he picked up a set with soft pastels.

"Her mom is right behind you, and again, you're cleaning her up after she colors with those," Beckett said, watching them. "Julia?" she said then as she looked at what Castle was holding. When their daughter was looking at them she quickly said, "These are soft pastels, not oil. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Julia said eagerly.

Sharing a look with her fiancé, Beckett took her to the books with Castle trailing behind them, and they helped their daughter pick out a set, books about different artists, paintings and other things related to art that they decided together she should have since it was educational, and had different artwork than the museum had. Joining their parents, she watched as Julia helped Martha pick out a scarf, smiling as the little girl was somehow able to draw her dad and then Castle into the decision, before she herself added her opinion. She felt her fiancé's fingers brush against her arm, and she looked to him before they turned away from each other, knowing he felt the same in that moment. The desire to go back to that moment they'd kissed raging within her before she could get it under control and turned her attention back to their family.

* * *

Shaking out the blanket that he'd been carrying for them, Castle laid it out on the grass, watching as Julia jumped onto the middle of it and lay down. "Going to take a nap?" he asked as he and Beckett joined her, sitting on either side of her.

"No," Julia giggled as she sat up. "Mommy, can I take off my shoes?" she asked pleadingly.

"Sorry sweetie, those need to stay on," Beckett said. "And we can't stay too long, we need to go back and give Martha her gifts before we go."

"Grandpapa said he's giving you something," Julia said, watching Castle taking something out of the bag they'd brought with them to Central Park.

"I think it's a little too soon Castle," Beckett said as he handed Julia a sugar cookie. "We just ate."

"Not really," he protested. "But you liked that lunch right?"

"You know I always love it there, and this time was no exception," Beckett said simply. "Smaller bites Julia," she said gently as she pulled the cookie out of the little girl's mouth. She leaned over when she didn't protest, kissing the top of her head before taking the cookie Castle had bought for her.

"So what is he getting for your mom? You never said," he asked as Julia finished her second bite of cookie.

"I don't know, Grandpapa said it's a secret but you will like it Mommy," Julia said.

"Of course, just like I loved your flowers and vase, that was a very beautiful gift," Beckett said.

"That's not your present," Julia protested.

"No? Then I'm eager to see what is, because I loved those two," Beckett said, smiling as Julia looked to Castle. "When will I be getting it?" she asked, smiling when Castle looked at her in surprise.

"After dinner," Julia said seriously, not noticing the exchange between her mother and Castle. "I wish it was windy," she said, looking up at the breeze that was just barely ruffling the leaves on the trees above them.

"Next weekend we'll take your kite," Castle promised her. "I just hope it'll be windy then. So I guess you liked the cookie?" he asked since she was handing him the napkin she'd used.

"Thank you," Julia said, giggling as she stood and he pulled her to him with one arm for a hug. "Now what do we do?" she asked, looking to be impatient as they were still eating their desserts.

"Now is fine," Beckett said simply when Castle looked to her.

"Okay, your mom and I bought this for you so you could play with it today," he said, taking something out of the bag.

"Bubbles!" Julia squealed. She hugged Castle, kissing him on the cheek to say thank you, and then hugged her mother tightly.

"You're welcome sweetie," Beckett said after they'd shared a kiss. "Castle, I said a smaller bottle."

"Oh, must have misheard that, I thought you said _not_ a smaller bottle," he said, laughing when she shoved him. "Need some help?" he asked as Julia was trying to take the cover off the top of the bottle. He finished off his cookie and opened the bubbles for her, reaching in to get the wand. "Have fun," he said.

"Are you gonna take pictures Mommy?" Julia asked as she saw her mother had her camera in her hand.

"I am," Beckett said. "But I'm not telling you when."

"That's what happens when you mute the shutter noise," Castle commented as they then watched Julia blow some bubbles, reaching up with her other hand to try and catch them on her fingers. "Here," he said, standing up. "Remember last time what I showed you?"

"Yeah," Julia said. "Show me again?"

Castle kissed the top of her head and took the wand, blowing some bubbles and catching one on the end. He blew out a large bubble and then handed the wand and bottle back to the little girl.

"Hold this," Julia said suddenly after she got some of the solution on the wand. She then spun around, laughing as with her first turn; she saw the bubbles that had come out. She then fell, dizzy at how fast she'd spun twice, and giggled as her mother picked her up, setting her on her lap. "I'm kay, I was too fast," she assured her mother.

"Then just rest a little bit until you stop spinning," Beckett said with a smile. She looked up at Castle, surprised when she saw he'd sat on his knees next to them, and had Julia's camera in his hand. She smiled wider as she thought he'd likely got some good pictures of them, and she stood up after their daughter had. "Let me sweetie," she said, not surprised when at the same time, Julia was handing the wand to her. She blew out some bubbles, and then watched the little girl jumping to catch them as they fell.

Julia noticed one bubble on her white dress, the shimmering colors covering the black branches and leaves of light blue flowers, and popped it quickly before she begged her mother, "Can I take off my shoes now?"

"Alright," Beckett sighed, not surprised when the little girl immediately sat on the blanket and almost ripped her sandals off.

Wriggling her toes, Julia jumped as Castle tickled the bottom of her feet and laughed saying, "Are you gonna take your shoes off?"

"Not this time, but apparently your mom is," he replied, sounding surprised as he looked down at Beckett's heels she'd thrown on the blanket next to him. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Obviously not," Beckett said as Julia jumped up and tugged at her hands. "What is it sweetie?"

"Can I climb a tree?" Julia asked eagerly.

"I don't want you getting your dress dirty today," Beckett said gently. "And you're tired of the bubbles already?"

"No, Castle-" Julia said disappointedly before she turned to him.

"Sorry sweetheart, your mom's right, don't want you getting your dress dirty either," he said. "But," he told her. "Next weekend if we fly the kites, we'll make sure you're wearing clothes you can climb trees in." At Beckett's loud clearing of her throat he quickly said, "Uh… if you're mom's okay with it too of course."

Smiling at Castle's wide eyes, Julia hugged him and said, "I wanna take pictures now."

"Of what?" Beckett asked as she sat down with her fiancée.

"Of you, you do the bubbles now Mommy and I'll take pictures," Julia said excitedly.

Sharing a look with Castle, Beckett took the bottle that their daughter gave her, and once Julia had her camera, proceeded to blow some bubbles, knowing without looking that she was taking pictures whenever the camera let her. She watched as her fiancé put his finger underneath one, and then handed him the wand.

As he was taking it, Castle realized that where they were in the park, they were pretty much alone, and at the same time no one was walking down the path. So taking the chance, he pulled her hand until she was leaning against him, and he kissed her deeply.

A little startled, but understanding why he'd done that, Beckett pulled back before she paused and they turned at the same time to their daughter. "Julia," she and Castle both said at the same time when they saw she was giggling behind her camera.

"Let me see," Castle said, standing up and going to her. "Oh, and she fakes a left," he said jokingly as she ran from him. He started after her, but Beckett was soon scooping her up in her arms as the little girl laughed wildly and he hurried to them, sharing a kiss with Julia before kissing her mother briefly. He and his fiancée were a little stuck after they parted, gazing at each other before Julia buried her face into her mother's neck, and they turned their attention back to their daughter, their hands clasped together between them as they went back to the blanket.

* * *

Holding the gift in her arms tightly to her, Julia walked up to Martha who was sitting on the couch and shyly handed it to her.

"Is that for me?" Martha asked with a smile as she looked up at the little girl.

"Happy Mother's Day," Julia said with a nod. She put her hands behind her back and was biting at her lower lip as Martha unwrapped the paper.

Pulling out the picture frame, Castle's mother smiled and reached out to pull Julia to her for a hug. "Thank you darling, it's a beautiful picture," she said, knowing the little girl was nervous about it.

"Let me see," Castle said, sitting next to his mother. He took the frame and smiled at the photo in it; it was of his mother and Julia at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco; as he looked at Beckett who was on his other side.

"I know, who do you think helped her get everything together?" she said with a slight smile.

"And Mommy wrapped, but she let me help," Julia was saying.

"You did a wonderful job, thank you both," Martha quickly commented.

"And this is for you Mother," Castle said, handing her a white wrapped box.

When she saw the light blue box that his mother uncovered, Beckett leaned over a little to look at her fiancé, shaking her head as he smirked slightly. She then turned back to his mother to see her reaction, bracing herself for it.

"I was beginning to think Richard," Martha said with a smile. "That you hadn't heard me at all," watching Julia touch the plume of feathers on the peacock that was at the top of the lamp she pulled out.

"You might want to thank Julia," Castle said honestly. "Though I was planning on getting it for you, she reminded me of the fact that you liked it so many times that there was no way I could forget or not have heard as you said."

"Then thank you," Martha said as she kissed her son's cheek before kissing Julia's. "Both of you, and so now I can see why you like Lladros so much Kate, they are beautiful."

"They are, do you have a place for it?" Beckett asked as she took the lamp.

"Right on my dresser," Martha said. "Though now you and Alexis are the only ones without one… does your father have any?"

"He does, of Don Quixote; that book was one of a number of reasons he wanted to go Spain," Beckett said simply. "But I don't think you need to worry about Alexis, or him."

"Right, I bought her one of the god Ganesha playing a sitar," Castle said. "Really hoping she'll like it."

"She will, it's pretty," Julia said, going to him as Martha left to put her lamp away.

"And… wait, you said him, you mean me or your dad?" Castle asked, looking at his fiancée. "You bought me one?" he asked in surprise.

"I helped her pick it out," Julia said eagerly.

"It's a late birthday gift, it was on backorder, but it should be here in a week or two," Beckett said.

"And? Do I get to know now what it is or are you going to make me wait?" Castle asked when she didn't say anything else.

"I'll go get my tablet Mommy," Julia said eagerly, jumping off his lap and running to his office. She brought it back and watched her mother pull up the picture of the figurine, going over to Castle as she handed it to him.

"This…" he began before he smiled widely. He leaned over and kissed Beckett deeply, but quickly saying, "It's perfect. I wonder if it's okay to keep this at the beach house."

"In our room? Of course," Beckett said simply. "You were right sweetie, he did like it," she then said to their daughter.

"But you saw it first," Julia protested.

"What are we talking about… oh, a polo player, you should get that," Martha said, coming up behind them and seeing the screen of the tablet.

"She already did Mother, did you talk to her about that?" Castle asked.

"Oh, so that's why you asked me about him wanting to play polo," Martha said to Beckett knowingly. There was a knock at the door, and she went to answer it saying, "I wouldn't let him play when he was young because I didn't want him to get hurt riding horses. So kiddo, when are you going to start learning?"

"She has a point," Beckett with a smile before his mother called to her. "Dad, hey," she said, standing up when she saw him. "I thought you were going to come over tomorrow night instead?"

"I found it," Jim said, shaking his head. "Though you would think I'd know better than to put this on the shelf where my shirts are basically the same color as the box. Happy Mother's Day, Katie."

Taking off the lid, Beckett took a deep breath and looked up at her father before she hugged him tightly with one arm. When she pulled back, she took the picture out of the box, and said, "I've never seen this one before."

"I thought it was lost, but your mother had an envelope of pictures with the stuff we found for Julia," Jim said, smiling at his granddaughter who was hugging him as Castle and Martha joined them. "I forced myself to look at them, and found that. I remember taking it when you were about five or six months old."

Taking the picture, Castle knelt down a little to let Julia see it, and smiled when the little girl did too seeing her mother as a baby with her grandmother, outside at what he guessed was Central Park or a park somewhere in the city. "It's a great picture," he said, looking up at his fiancée and her dad.

"It is," Martha agreed, able to tell as her son had that the two were a little emotional.

"I made copies," Jim said, taking an envelope from under his arm and handing it to his daughter. "These are from one of my old cameras; I knew your mother had developed what we had. Because it wasn't until you were born that I used that camera again after high school to take pictures of you. And of course it breaks as soon as I finished the second roll of film with it."

"Of course, thank you," Beckett said. She squeezed his hand and looked at her fiancé before Castle and Martha took Julia to the kitchen. "Are you okay?" she asked in a low tone of voice once they were alone.

"I am," Jim said simply. "But you?"

Glancing over at Julia sitting on the counter as Castle spoke to her; Beckett looked back at her dad and said, "Yeah, I'll be alright. But what are you going to do tonight? Because you could always eat with-"

Shaking his head, Jim interrupted her saying, "Dean Guildford asked me over to his club tonight. We'll play some chess together and discuss our kids and grandkids."

"Come over tomorrow," Beckett urged him. "For dinner with us."

"Where will you be?" Jim asked. "Here I'm guessing from the look on your face. And I'll come, I'll be happy to." He then looked over at the kitchen and said, "Julia, I'm going to go, but your mom invited me for dinner tomorrow, so I'll see you after school."

"Kay, I can show you my homework," Julia said, running over to him to be picked up. She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek saying, "I love you Grandpapa," in a serious tone of voice.

"I love you too Julia," Jim said, kissing her before he set her down. He nodded to Castle and Martha, saying goodbye to them before he hugged his daughter. "I hope the dinner goes well," he told her.

"It will," Beckett said with a smile before she walked with him to the door. "Take care tonight Dad."

"I will, love you Katie," Jim said before he left.

"Love you too Dad," Beckett said before Castle suddenly walked past her. She watched him in surprise before he closed the door carefully behind him. She turned to Martha and Julia saying, "I guess he wants to talk to him privately."

"Very likely," Martha said. "Come with me Julia, and tell me what you think of where I put my new lamp."

Once the two were upstairs, Beckett turned to the door as Castle walked inside. "What is it?" she asked him immediately.

"It's a mix of your mom and what happened to you," he replied in a low voice, looking around for Julia.

"She's upstairs with Martha. Is he okay though? Because if he's not-" Beckett started to say.

"He is, but he's nostalgic with today and you being a mother now he feels…" Castle started to say before he stopped to try and figure out how to explain it. "He doesn't feel old, but he knows now you've really grown up and aren't exactly his little girl. Does that make sense?"

"It does, and I guess it's something I should expect when Julia gets older?" Beckett asked.

"Definitely," Castle said. "I wasn't expecting to go through it a second time, but that's alright."

Reaching out and taking his hand as she grew serious, Beckett said slightly hesitatingly, "Maybe if-"

"Mommy?" Julia said then as she came down the stairs. She ran to her and asked softly, "Can we look at the pictures?"

"Why don't we wait until you go to bed?" Beckett asked.

"Kay," Julia said eagerly. "Now what?"

"Now we can work with your pastels you got," Castle said. "Let's draw something for your mom okay?"

Beckett smiled as she followed the two to the coffee table, sitting on the couch behind them as she watched them prepare a picture. She leaned over eventually and kissed the back of Julia's head before running her hand over Castle's, resting her hand on his shoulder as she listened to them planning together.

* * *

"Richard, I nearly forgot but it just came to me that when I talked with Alexis earlier she told me to tell you to call her," Martha said.

"She did?" Castle asked, in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. "When did she say that? Because if she wanted me to call her-"

"I wasn't quite finished," Martha said simply, cutting him off as he looked at his watch. "She wants you to call her after dinner."

"Oh, well in that case great," Castle said. He smiled then, looking past his mother's shoulder as Julia came down the stairs. "You look very pretty sweetheart," he said, going to take her hand to help her down the last few steps.

"Thank you," the little girl said, hugging him quickly. "Thank you for helping," she then directed to Martha.

"I was happy to," she replied. She went over to Castle, as he was holding Julia and shared a kiss with her saying, "I need to go, but good night darling, I will see you tomorrow, at your ballet class."

"I can't wait," Julia said excitedly. "Night Martha."

Before he could say good night to his mother, Castle heard the door to his room open and he looked over with her and Julia to see Beckett walking out. He tensed up seeing her, swallowing a little harder than he meant to as they all looked at him.

"Have a wonderful night Richard," Martha said, nearly laughing at the expression on her son's face as she squeezed his arm and then walked over to his fiancée. "I think you just knocked his socks off kiddo," she whispered to her.

"I think you're right," Beckett said, her lips curling up in smirk. "Goodnight Martha, Happy Mother's Day again."

"The same to you Kate, have a wonderful dinner you three. And good night!" Martha called as Castle opened the door for her, still holding Julia.

After he had closed the door, Castle set Julia down and then went straight to Beckett, cupping her cheeks and kissing her. He had to still control himself in that, since their daughter was there and likely watching them, but he made the most out of it, gently slipping his tongue into her mouth to caress hers before he pulled away. "I'm starting to think I should thank her for asking to dress up tonight," he said as they pressed their foreheads together.

"I know I already did," Beckett said, smiling as she bit at her lower lip at the same time. She kissed Castle gently on the lips and looked at Julia at the same time he did. She was a little surprised when their daughter was looking up at them, and said, "So that you didn't mind?"

"No," Julia giggled. "I was looking at your dress Mommy."

"Oh, then that explains it," Castle said. "And speaking of dressing up for dinner, it's ready, so go ahead and sit." Before Beckett could follow Julia to the table though he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, kissing her very briefly before he led her to her seat.

"I'm starting to think you've been suppressing a lot," Beckett whispered to him as he held out her chair.

"And will be even more until she's in bed," Castle whispered back to her before she was sitting.

"So Mommy is pretty?" Julia asked as he then went around to help her; since Beckett was sitting at the end of the table in between them.

"She's beautiful," Castle said simply as he helped her into her seat then.

Smiling at that, and how serious he'd been in his tone, Beckett helped Julia with her napkin, trying to keep that smile from sliding into a smirk. She'd dressed with the intent of pushing Castle's self control, and also to see if she could prove something at the same time. She had dressed simply, a black dress with a full, below the knee skirt and a wrap around neckline that exposed her shoulders entirely. Her hair done up and her mother's comb in it and it was one of her more modest looks. But he'd proven it was enough to want her, and she couldn't suppress a shiver of pleasure that raced through her at the thought she still needed to see how much he desired her.

"Are you cold Mommy?" Julia asked softly, seeing her mother shake briefly.

"Oh no sweetie," Beckett said quickly, turning her thoughts from that with her daughter sitting next to her. "Is your dress comfortable?"

"Yes, Martha tied my bow tight and it's nice now," Julia said, looking down at her white dress with a dark green plaid sash high on her waist. "Are you having a good Mother's Day, Mommy?"

"The best," Beckett replied, leaning over and kissing her before Castle came over with two plates. "Interesting that you ended up becoming the waiter tonight."

"I'll take a tip later on," Castle said simply. "When we're finished eating," he then added hastily as he realized how that sounded.

Beckett didn't say anything, merely watched him get his plate before they started to eat. She then brought up the topic of the museum, and they spent most of the meal discussing their favorite pieces until Castle and Julia went to the kitchen together to get dessert. "It's a little soon for that isn't it?" she called to them as she stood up.

"You want to go for a walk?" Castle asked, taking a plate from the fridge and setting it on the counter for her to see.

Smiling as she saw there were three little glasses with parfaits in them, Beckett walked over to him and kissed him before saying, "Maybe not." She followed him to the couch and they watched Julia eat her dessert standing up until she put her glass down and whispered loudly in Castle's ear.

"Can I get it now?" Julia asked nervously. When he nodded, she hurried to Alexis' room, grabbing the box on the bed. "For you Mommy," she said, giving it to her mother back downstairs.

"Thank you sweetie," Beckett said, sharing a kiss with her. She was surprised the box wasn't wrapped, but guessed that Julia wanted her to see her gift faster. And after parting the tissue paper, she bit her lower lip as tears pricked against the backs of her eyes. "Oh sweetie, this is perfect," she whispered, bringing her daughter to her. She held in her hand a large black and white photograph of them laughing together, and she quickly recognized it as being from when they'd been dying Easter eggs together. She reached over to Castle as she set the frame on her lap, squeezing his hand for a moment before bringing their daughter into her arms fully for a tight hug that Julia quickly returned.

Watching them, Castle took the picture from her lap and waited for them to let go of each other before he found his fiancée wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him. He returned it quickly; as it was short; and when they pulled away said, "This was from her."

"I know, but I'm thanking you for helping her," Beckett said with a smile.

"Where are you going to put that?" Julia asked as her mother and Castle looked at the picture together.

"In my room, I have to look and find the perfect spot first though. But I will put it with the picture your grandpapa gave me," Beckett replied. She cuddled Julia close to her and kissed her temple saying, "This was a very nice Mother's Day though."

"Do I have to go to bed now," Julia said, wrinkling her nose.

"No," Castle laughed. "Actually, I think now is a good time to call Alexis."

"Oh good!" Julia said happily as they got up and went to his office.

Setting everything up and dialing his daughter's number, Castle watched as she appeared on the screen, smiling when he saw her. "Hey sweetheart," he said.

"Hi Dad, Julia. And Happy Mother's Day, Beckett," Alexis said.

"Thank you, how was it today?" she asked.

"Not bad, spent the day in the city," Alexis said. "And in a little bit I'm going to that dinner with Diana's family at the Buckeye Roadhouse, they insisted. So I need to make this quick."

"I told you they wouldn't mind you being there," Castle said.

"How's May?" Beckett asked.

"Good, getting bigger which the triplets are excited about. I think they're amazed their brother is inside their mother," Alexis said. "Oh, and they said to tell you hi Julia, if I saw you."

"Say hi to them from me," Julia said with a smile.

"Do you want to talk with your dad?" Beckett asked.

"No, actually, I'd like to talk to you alone if I could. Dad, tomorrow okay?" Alexis said.

"Sure," Castle said, a little surprised at that. But he took Julia after they'd said goodbye, and he turned back to find his fiancée and his daughter watching him go, jumping a little bit at their combined stares.

"What is it?" Beckett asked once they were alone. "Nothing serious is it?"

"Oh no, I just wanted to talk to you about plans I have for Father's Day," Alexis said.

Smiling at that, Beckett said, "I wanted to talk to you about that too. Tell me what you have in mind."

Outside Castle was sitting with Julia on his lap as they looked at the picture and he said, "You know, if you wanted to give me something just like this for Father's Day next month, I wouldn't mind."

Julia giggled and squirmed a little before Beckett came out of the office and asked, "What did she say Mommy?"

"Just some questions about Stanford, they're going to go to a party there, and wanted to know their way around," Beckett said.

"Huh, interesting," Castle said, not really believing that. But hearing the tone his fiancée was using, he knew it'd be pointless to ask so instead he said, "So we've got time until she needs to go to bed. We could play a game if you want to, and if she does of course."

"Oh, please! I'll go get it!" Julia cried before running over to his office.

"I love how she waits for us to say we can play for sure," Beckett said, trying not to laugh as they watched her.

"I have to wonder what game it's going to be though," Castle said as their daughter came back. "Mancala and Operation," he said, fighting a smile.

"I don't know which one is better," Julia said with a frown.

"Let's play Mancala, I don't like the idea of Castle getting shocked the whole time," Beckett said.

"Hey," he said in protest. "You're probably right," he then continued when they looked at him. "Let's see who'll win Mancala, but Julia-"

"Mommy," the little girl said quickly, going to lean against her mother.

"Okay, then me against you two," Castle said, setting up the game with Beckett's help. As they were putting the pieces into each space, he trailed his fingers against hers, trying to make it seem like it was accidental. Though when she looked at him, he knew she wasn't buying it. Luckily, she didn't make him stop, and he slid closer to her on the couch, chancing the opportunity. When she didn't say anything to that either, he put his arm around her as they watched Julia go first, and feeling her leaning against him he suddenly couldn't wait for later.

* * *

Opening the flap of the envelope, Beckett took out the small stack of pictures that were inside, and she smiled at the first one, recognizing herself at about three weeks old.

"You look serious Mommy," Julia commented, sitting to her left.

"Babies usually don't smile until about a month old," Castle commented; sitting to Beckett's right. "Though that's when Alexis first did."

"How come you're so eager to see these sweetie?" Beckett asked her as she handed Julia the photograph.

"'Cause I want to see my mommy when she was little," the little girl said, leaning over to see the next one, of her grandmother and mother in front of a Christmas tree.

"Nice selfie," Castle said when the fourth picture after that one was of the Becketts together in a mirror.

"It is, my dad told me how those were around for a long time," Beckett replied. "You just needed a mirror for them."

"Can I have this one Mommy?" Julia then asked as Beckett revealed the next picture.

"A copy," Beckett said with a smile since it was of her using a table to stand.

"Your dad is a really good photographer," Castle said. "Well, was. Though going out with Julia he should get back into it."

"He is, but only when he's with her," Beckett said as she showed them the last of the photographs and then put them back into the envelope. "Now you need to go to sleep sweetie," she said as she and Castle got off the bed.

Sighing, Julia said, "I wanna see my friends and go to ballet, but don't wanna go."

"I know, but we're going to work tomorrow, so you need to go to school," Beckett said simply. She let Castle step up to the bed then, and watched as they hugged.

"Thank you for helping me today," Julia said, standing on the mattress.

"I was glad to," Castle replied before they shared a kiss. "But for now, sweet dreams Julia, I love you."

Nodding, the little girl then hugged her mother once she was close, and kissed her cheek saying, "I love you Mommy, you're the best mommy in the world."

Touching Beckett's back at that, Castle was relieved when his fiancée didn't flinch, and instead held their daughter tighter to her.

"I love you too sweetie, and thank you for everything today, this was probably the best Mother's Day I've ever celebrated," Beckett said.

"Next year will be better," Julia said. "And then we can do something else. Can we go to the zoo?"

"We'll see," Beckett said with a slight laugh. She shared a kiss with Julia, and then helped Castle get her tucked in. "Sweet dreams Julia," she whispered, kissing the little girl's forehead before standing up. She let Castle take her to the doorway and they watched their daughter until they were sure she was sleeping.

"So was it really?" Castle was saying as they went down the stairs.

"The best? It was, but it's only my first," Beckett replied. "So for now, it was, though I'm sure as we celebrate more and more they'll get better and better."

Castle nodded at that, and then said, "I need to do something really quick, I'll be right back."

Beckett watched him walk to his room, and she turned, walking more into the living room.

A few minutes later when he came out with something in his hands, Castle paused when he didn't see his fiancée at first. But he quickly noticed she was at the window, and he went over to her, trying to walk as quietly as he could before he wrapped his arm around her front. "Close your eyes Kate," he whispered as the slight tensing of her body let him know that she knew it was him.

Wondering what exactly he had for her; since she guessed whatever it was was a gift from his tone; Beckett did so and then felt Castle putting her hands around a book. She read the title when he told her to look, and when she saw what the book was about, opened her mouth to speak when he beat her to it.

"This isn't so much a gift but a promise," Castle said as he moved to stand next to her. "That once we're married and we can travel as a family with Julia and Alexis; and our parents too, we'll see; I'm taking you all to Spain."

"So if you could have, you would have given me tickets?" Beckett asked, flipping open the travel book on the country.

"Of course, and they would have been for the day after Alexis got back, whenever that is," Castle said. "Since Julia's finished with school the thirteenth right?"

"She is," Beckett said absently.

Smiling as he wasn't surprised his fiancée's attention was on the book, Castle took her hand and led her over to the couch, sitting next to her so he could look over her shoulder at the pages. "Why don't we take a look at Madrid?" he suggested.

"You haven't looked at the book yet?" Beckett said in surprise, turning her head to look at him.

"Not yet," Castle said. "I made myself resist the temptation since I wanted to be guided by you through it."

"I don't know all that much about it," Beckett said. "But I'll tell you what my dad's told me." She flipped the book ahead to that section, and they looked at the pictures and some descriptions of the places in the city.

"And since when do you speak with a Castilian fricative?" Castle asked, noticing her th pronunciation on the z sounds.

"Since my dad does," Beckett said. "But I don't speak it constantly, so I forget to use that sometimes."

"Something I've been thinking about," Castle said. "Think we could go in July?"

"Why?" Beckett asked.

"Pamplona," Castle replied simply, raising his eyebrows a few times.

"Oh no, you're not doing the Running of the Bulls," Beckett said, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Castle said, though he wasn't too surprised by her reply.

Beckett simply said, "You have us to think about Castle, and would you really want Julia or Alexis seeing you in the hospital after being gored?" When he sighed and shook his head, she closed the book then as they'd finished looking at Madrid and turned to him with a kiss before saying, "Thank you though, for the book and the future trip, it means a lot you're that serious about taking me to Spain."

"I'm looking forward to going," Castle said. "But until then…" he began before trailing off and going to his office.

Standing up, Beckett went over to the doorway and watched as he went on his laptop, and then smiled when she heard the music playing. "So you wanted to practice?" she asked.

"No, I just wanted to dance with you," Castle said, going to her and taking her into the living room before wrapping his arms around her. "And maybe practice, a little," he said.

"So we'll start out our first dance like this? Not even bother with the standard position? Julia will be shocked," Beckett said.

"I know," Castle said before she laughed slightly. He pulled her closer, pressing his cheek to hers as she stroked the back of his neck. He waited until the song was finished; luckily it was short; before he was grabbing her hand, pulling her to his room. Since both doors were open, he had to leave her to get them closed and locked saying, "Sorry."

"For what?" Beckett asked in confusion. But she quickly realized what he'd meant, and shook her head saying, "Eventually you'll come back to me and-" before he cut her off with a deep kiss. She could feel the tension in his body then and sighed in pleasure as she wrapped her arms around him. The kiss was quicker than she thought it would be, and it was only the one as he was taking her to his side of the bed. "Why are we looking in this?" she asked as he stood behind her as they were at the mirror.

"Because I really need it," Castle said simply, kissing at her bare shoulders as soon as she'd spoken. "You shocked me."

"That was part of the plan," Beckett said, smiling though it slipped off her face quickly at the touch of his lips that were sending literal sparks through her.

"And the other?" Castle asked, just barely letting his hands run over the front of her form, watching with her in the mirror before he clasped them together over her abdomen.

"Just to see if a dress that wasn't showing acres of skin would still entice you," Beckett said, closing her eyes tightly as Castle proceeded to drift his lips down her collarbone and to her shoulder. "But I should have known."

"Definitely should have," Castle said, his voice suddenly coming out husky. He looked back at the mirror, seeing the way his fiancée's hands were clutching his, and he finally told her, "I want to watch us."

"Hmm, I figured that out," Beckett said with a small smile on her lips. "You just need to not lie back like you always do."

"I can't help it," Castle said defensively as he moved his hands. "You knock me out consistently."

Beckett wanted to reply to that, but was cut off when he pulled the zipper of her dress down and his fingertips stroked against her skin. Shivering in response, she let out a moan when his lips were suddenly attacking the ridges of her spine, before he was roughly pulling the black fabric down her arms. "Castle," she breathed in anticipation as her breasts were exposed.

"I can't stop," he told her, shaking his head as she turned to him at his guidance and they worked together to get his jacket and tie off. While Castle was getting the coat to the floor, she was almost pulling apart the buttons on his shirt before he kissed her. He was hungry and passionate, not needing to hold back for any reason anymore. When his shirt joined the pile at their feet, he pulled her to him, feeling her breasts brushing against his bare chest, making them both slightly jerk against one another in response. "I love you like this," he said against her lips before crushing them with his again.

Feeling Castle's hands running over her back as they were busy with their tongues in her mouth, Beckett pressed harder against him, though there was no way she could get any closer than she already was. She pulled away eventually with a short gasp for air before he kissed at her neck, grabbing for her comb. When he turned her back towards the mirror, it was little surprise to her, feeling her hair falling around her shoulders before he was reaching up to cover her breasts with his hands. "You know, the feeling…" she started to say, drifting off as her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head with his mouth sucking at the junction of her neck and shoulder. "The feeling is mutual," she said, fighting through her urge to give into her desire. "But," she told him as she turned to him. "There's another way I love you."

Castle was quick to help her remove her dress and then his trousers, after that things became a little muddled in a haze of strokes of each other's hands and lips before they were naked. Though the only thing on either of them were Beckett's heels; he hadn't let her remove those yet. "You're right, this is much better," he commented after they pulled away from a kiss. He made her turn around, caressing around her upper body before descending to the junction of her legs. "A lot better," he murmured.

Biting her lower lip as Castle sat on the edge of the bed behind her, Beckett joined him, but neither of them made sure he would be inside of her when she did. She knew he wanted to have their foreplay go on for a little longer, judging by the way he stroked her inner thighs. She did nothing to stop him, watching him in the mirror as he was kissing at her shoulder, sucking the skin from time to time.

Moving up to the side of her head, Castle moved enough to push her hair over her left shoulder and nuzzled her ear before whispering, "I don't think I want to wait," to see if she wanted him to continue or move on as she caressed his cheek.

"Neither do I," Beckett said. She let him help her rise up above him, and then lowered herself, closing her eyes tightly in pleasure as he slid inside of her. When she was held against him, she reached up and shared a kiss with him as she caressed his cheek, their lips sliding along each other before she broke it off. "That's why you wouldn't let me take these off," she teased him, referring to her heels.

"Of course," Castle said simply before he moved, just once. At her slight groan, which he joined in with, he began to thrust, not surprised when she was quick to respond, moving along with him as they clung to each other tightly the best they could. He looked ahead at the mirror, shuddering when he saw they way they looked, the way her body looked as it moved with him. His pace was fast immediately, knowing he wouldn't be able to be calm, and he held her to him even tighter before he let his hands drift up to her breasts.

Covering his hands with her right briefly, Beckett leaned back against his shoulder, turning her head so her nose was brushing against his cheek. "Castle… you… yes," she started to say before she ended in a hiss. She hadn't really had anything to say, but his fingers running over her clit momentarily kept him from knowing that. She forced herself to lift her head up, watching as he stroked her, his other arm wrapped around her middle. She reached up back around his neck, while her other hand gripped tightly on his on her abdomen.

"I need to agree with you… what you said… before," Castle managed to get out before she was leaning back far enough for them to kiss. He took her lips with a fervency that would have surprised him if he hadn't done it hundreds of times before, likely far more than that. But what shocked him was the jolt; that literal flash that shot through him from his lips, that traveled over every inch of him when they kissed, when she touched him, when he made love to her as he was doing then. He found that as he watched them again in the mirror; by then having left the apex of her legs to hold her hips to help her move; he hadn't been lying when he'd told her before that he was addicted to her. She gave him so many different feelings, different emotions, different sensations, that he had to wonder if he was ever going to be used to her. They had made love in the exact same position several times before, and yet he could think of nothing else but the basics of him, her and how they were on the bed that made it the same as those occurrences in the past. He made her stop then, and wrapped his arms around her a little higher, just holding her.

Though she had no idea what he was thinking exactly, Beckett could understand the sentiment in the way he held her, as she was loath to cease her movements. But she was enjoying the feeling of Castle's arms around her, his lips gently running around her exposed neck and shoulders. When he reached up to run his fingers through her hair she trembled for a second and then said, "You have a chance Castle, take me," not caring her tone was begging with those last two words. She sucked in a deep breath when he proceeded to move again, but it wasn't fully because of pleasure; there was plenty of that; but mixed in with it was the fact he was moving slowly. His hands were on her hips, making her rock back and forth, and making her dizzy with the transition from before.

Letting go of her, Castle touched her knees as he sped up, feeling her going along with him. Satisfied that she was set, he started to run his hands up her inner thighs, that time going as slowly as he wanted. He could feel his fiancée tensing up in front of him, and he kissed her shoulder gently as he slid up over her thighs. He pushed on them carefully, until she got the hint and spread her legs a little further, putting them on the outside of his. By then his pace had picked up enough he was toeing the line between slow and outright ramming into her. He stopped there, as he wanted her to command him to do the latter, and he told himself they had the next morning to do the former. But where they were was more than enough, and he ran his left hand up and down her thigh, sliding down almost to his leg, before going back up. He squeezed her skin, knowing she enjoyed that every once in a while. His right hand was back between her legs, sliding around her very swollen nub and making him bury his face into the back of her head with a heavy groan of her name.

Hearing that easily; as well as feeling it since his voice reverberated against her scalp; Beckett was more than a little amazed that he wasn't throwing her down on the bed to be able to take her a little easier with the front of her body in better access. But she couldn't complain, he was making her feel as if she was literally on fire, every pass of his hand, or his fingers was shooting straight to their coupled bodies. She bit her lower lip hard when he reached up to grab her hand, and she made sure she was watching in the mirror as he guided her, helping her touch herself. She wasn't sure how long they were doing that, watching one another in the reflective glass, until something deep within her snapped. Her ecstasy finally released, she reached behind her to hold onto him as her back arched and she cried out his name, feeling his hands grip her sides; fingers rigid for an instant before he pulled her back against him.

Groaning out her name a little after she'd begun calling his, Castle kept that up until finally his body nearly jerked to a stop, and they were both still, panting heavily together. He let himself rest for a minute; maybe two though he had little care for time when he had her in his arms as he did at that point; and then helped her lay on the bed. He took off her heels for her before he moved to lie on his side as he guided her to do the same. "I didn't lie back," he said jokingly when she cupped his cheek.

"No, I'm proud of you," Beckett said seriously before they started to laugh. They cut themselves off with a kiss they both initiated at the same time, and then she lay back saying, "I didn't expect you to really take my request to heart."

"I don't joke around when you talk about that," Castle said, shuddering visibly as he remembered her telling him she wanted him to cater to her that night. "And not when you say that either, definitely not when you say that." He kissed her then before she could say anything, and when he pulled away said, "At least it's me you asked."

"What? You thought I'd ask that guy that was trying to hit on me?" Beckett said, rolling her eyes though she knew he was kidding. She had her hand on the back of his head and reached up, fingering the edge of his hair before saying, "I don't know, I think what I have right now is pretty good. And it's been pretty good for a while, so I'm content where I am."

"Pretty good? Is that how you rate me?" Castle asked in mock indignation. When she shrugged nonchalantly, he leaned down to capture her lips with his own before pulling back and whispering, "Maybe I can bring that up to good."

"And then what? Pretty great?" Beckett asked.

"Whatever it takes to make sure you're not going to forget me Kate," Castle breathed as he was done joking. He kissed her hard, and before she could respond for too long he slid down her body, taking her right breast hungrily as she cried out and clutched him to her tightly.

Watching as Castle went over her skin with light brushes of his lips, Beckett was already aware of what he was doing. But it didn't make it any less enjoyable, and it didn't make her anticipate it less as he began to slide down her form, feeling herself trembling in response. She had her legs already parted for him, and looked on as he stroked at the apex of her legs, making her a little startled. She had expected him to get started right away, but as she studied him, she could see he was very serious, and she had to bite her lower lip. She wanted to tell him that he was trying to worship her again; literally worship her; but that got lost as he lowered his head, looking straight into her eyes as he surrounded her swollen nub with his lips. Arching her back roughly as he started to flick his tongue and suck, she clutched at the bed under her, breaking their gaze at the same time.

Sliding his tongue past his lips, Castle trailed it over her folds, shaking heavily as she was very wet, slick against him. He slipped it inside of her, reaching up around her thighs to help hold her down as she was beginning to move her hips in time with him. He eventually pulled away, going to the inside of her thigh and kissing his way around it before doing the same to the other, feeling Beckett starting to relax. It was then he moved his fingers down to her entrance directly rubbing in an up and down motion as she clutched the bed again in response. He finally took pity on her; especially after her loud moan of his name; and replaced his fingers with his mouth.

Closing her eyes again, Beckett could feel some of her hair was stuck to her face, her body beginning to sweat a little from trying to withstand his ministrations. But she realized she didn't want him to stop, or delay, and so she reached down, placing her hand firmly on the back of his head to hold him where he was. She was prepared; if need be; to force him to stay, but luckily he seemed to grow impatient with her, clutching the inside of her thighs as his mouth seemed to be all over her at once. She wasn't sure if he just wanted her to climax or finish her off to make love to her, but she wasn't complaining.

Castle was a little angry at himself for speeding up as he was, but there was nothing he could honestly do to stop himself. He wanted to feel her, hear her, taste her orgasm, wanting to show her that he wasn't going to be able to stop because he was too much a part of her. He shook his head as he rethought that, and it didn't seem to make sense. But his confusion was rapidly lost when his fiancée briefly screamed in reaction to his movement. He was surprised at that, but did it a second time, before he focused on nothing else except getting her off.

Time was a foreign concept by then, and Beckett had little awareness of how long her fiancé was pleasuring her. Each stroke of his tongue, every sweep of his fingers became a short burst of pleasure, but thinking of them all they stretched out for so long a period that she wasn't sure how she hadn't climaxed with each touch to her skin; wherever it was. But finally, his fingers were moving in a strange way that she thought might be him doing the same up and down motion as he'd done before, and his tongue was flicking up… And up… and up, and she broke, trying not to scream but still letting out hard cries that had his name mixed in with a number of other words that she wasn't going to be able to repeat. She was breathing roughly when she was finally released from the heady ecstasy of her orgasm, and she felt Castle still moving between her legs. "Wait…" she breathed, reaching down to him to pull him up to her.

"Too much?" Castle asked as he laid on top of her, careful not to put his full weight on her.

"A little, but, I really don't think you need to worry about me forgetting you," Beckett said, wrapping her arms around his neck. She smiled before he kissed her, a slower, more sensuous kiss that made her lips throb a little at the sensation.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll forget about you; in case you were worried about that," Castle said once they'd parted and he had pressed his forehead to hers. They were quiet, and he found himself straining before she had him move to lie down, wondering if she could feel him.

"Did you set your alarm?" Beckett asked, suddenly getting up and draping over him to reach for his alarm clock. She jumped when she saw the time he had set, and looked down to see he was in fact sucking at her left breast. "Castle," she said, trying to move out of his tight grip he had around her to hold her in place. "Rick!" she then had to almost yell to get through to him as his free hand came up to cup her other breast.

"Sorry, sorry," Castle said, letting her go quickly. "You put that right in my face," he said defensively as she sat up on her knees next to him. "What could I do?"

"Let me know?" Beckett said, though she knew she was showing signs that she had enjoyed that, her cheeks feeling warm. "You know, something I just remembered I've wanted to ask you about, for a long time," she said quickly before he could comment on her appearance.

"Go ahead," Castle said, faltering slightly when she tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"You like to…" Beckett started to say before she paused, wondering how she could word her question so she wouldn't end up getting a snarky comment in return. "I've noticed when we're together; you tend to be a little more focused on me than I thought you'd ever be."

"Is that a bad thing?" Castle asked, sitting up then. He wasn't surprised when she glanced down in between them, but made no move to block her view as she turned her gaze to him to reply.

"No, but when we started out I had the feeling you'd be a good lover, but not to this degree," Beckett replied.

"You mean I worship you," Castle stated. At his fiancée's infinitesimal nod, he took a breath and said, "It's how I see you. It's what hit me; hard; the first time we were together and I could see you without you being injured from a bomb and trying to keep me from seeing you." He started to continue, but then hesitated before saying at her insistence, "I can see why women were; and in some cases still are; worshiped. But the first time we were together I didn't realize I'd be doing that, it wasn't planned is what I'm trying to say. It just happened naturally, instinctively."

"And it still does," Beckett said, smiling. "So you're doing this just because it's what you're compelled to do."

"Yeah, you must have had some selfish lovers in the past if this is still a shock to you after so long," Castle said.

"A few, but believe me, you're very different from what I've had," Beckett said, moving to push him back down on the bed.

"And please believe me when I say you are too, and in a fantastic- ugh- wonderful way… Kate," Castle started to say, ending up groaning before he could fully finish as she had reached between them to grasp his erection that hadn't really diminished since they'd finished the first time. He suddenly moved, turning them around so she was on her back, and found himself staring into her eyes as she didn't stop stroking him.

"Tell me when you're close," Beckett said, since his moving them had messed up her original plan. But she went along with it, feeling him starting to thrust with her hand. She had her other arm around his neck, feeling him tense underneath his shoulders. "It's a surprise still," she whispered to him as he pressed his forehead to hers, their lips brushing together. "That you don't try to just satisfy yourself."

"There wouldn't be much in doing that…" Castle said, unsure if he'd spoken that the way he had worded it in his mind. "Because what I want is to make you lose control, I get to join you luckily, so it's not all bad for me… Damn it am I making any sense… your hand is too soft, driving me crazy."

Beckett didn't respond to that, instead kissed him deeply before she intensified her strokes a little more. She looked in between them, just barely able to make out what she was doing. She kept that up for what felt like a short time; but was actually longer; before she noticed his warning signs.

Castle knew he was close, and instead of telling her as she'd requested, he quickly leaned down to her and whispered, "Can I fuck you Kate?"

A little startled at that; and the fact that he hadn't faltered at all in saying it, Beckett looked at her fiancé and then kissed him as she slowed her hand down around him. It was a rough, deep kiss that only ended when they pulled away from one another, breathing harshly. She touched his lips and smiled saying, "I need you Rick, I need you to fuck me."

That was all the incentive he needed, and Castle was soon taking her hand off him, before he almost slammed into her body. Her resulting cry reverberated through him as he was deep inside her, but he didn't move immediately, too close to the edge for his desire. He wanted them to be together, as close as possible, when they climaxed, and so he stayed still until he felt he'd calmed down enough. His first thrust was hard, but slightly tentative, checking to make sure. He felt he was in control of himself, and he began, taking her left leg in his hand to warn her.

Her eyes closed tightly, Beckett had reached up to hold onto the bottom of the pillow she was laying on. She could feel Castle grabbing her other leg after her left was draped over his shoulder, wondering how long he would have them in that position. She moved along with him; had been since he had begun to thrust; and felt their hips meeting in a hard smack. She could hear it as well, and questioned how exactly he was controlling himself when she had been so close to finishing pleasuring him not too long before. But she didn't really try and put too much into that, instead concentrating on the moment when he sank back into her, feeling a sense of relief each time he did. Accompanying that though, was also the rough jolt of pleasure that fanned out through her body, seeming to occupy every inch of her until she was on fire. She was actually missing his touch, but didn't want to move her legs, knowing he was enjoying where they were as much as she was.

Watching her closely, Castle was a little startled that he wasn't losing it right away, unsure why. He didn't really try to question it, or worry it over in his mind, instead he moved, pulling his fiancée's leg off of his shoulder to place it just below his arm. He then leaned down, taking her lips with his own as they hungrily kissed. When they had parted slowly, but almost gasping for air, he moved down her, nipping at her jaw and then her neck before he reached where her pendant was resting against the hollow of her throat. "Am I still?" he asked, a little stilted on the s as he looked up at her.

Gasping as he bit at her shoulder, Beckett couldn't answer that, and was lucky he didn't wait for her to. When his lips brushed over her breasts, she tensed up momentarily, trying to withstand the sensation before he reached up with his fingers. The tips ran along the curve on the side of her left mound, and his tongue followed, gently wetting her skin before he came back to blow on it lightly, making her shiver, breaking out immediately into goose bumps. She found she couldn't take it, and pulled him up to her lips, kissing him as hard as she could. She was a little startled when almost at the same time he was working harder against her, his hips slamming against hers. She let her fingers snake down the back of his neck until they were on his shoulders, and she clutched at him tightly as he nuzzled her cheek with his lips. Taking advantage of him moving towards her ear, she leaned up, biting on the lobe of his.

Grunting in response to that, Castle tried to turn his head to kiss her, when she stopped him by biting down a little harder than she was. He breathed out heavily, until she released him, and he moved to her lips, crushing them with his own. He groaned as she ran her nails down his back, focusing on his spine, and he pulled away from her, stopping abruptly as he kissed her neck wildly to try and keep her from protesting. He didn't hear a word out of her, so he moved her lips, kissing his way up over her chin until he reached her mouth. "You don't want me to stop," he whispered, their lips brushing as their heavy pants mingled in between them.

"No, never," Beckett said, not holding back in her demand or her tone. She clutched at him tightly as he proceeded to thrust once more, working to keep up with him as he suddenly moved, rolling onto his side and taking her so she ended up on hers. She grabbed onto his hip, as he held hers, and they were almost moving one another in their slightly frantic thrusts. They only stayed that way a short time, as she pulled him so she was lying back again. She let him take her wrists, and held her hands above her head for him after he set them there. She could feel the sensation of them moving towards one another more for some reason, knowing it was likely because she wasn't holding onto him and feeling the way his muscles were moving in his back. Their hips met with a heavy crash of their skin, parted and there she could only feel her own body straining to get back to him. But it was enough, and she closed her eyes tightly as his fingers suddenly stroked her swollen nub.

Not really caring his hand was being smashed between them, Castle had found a sudden sense of urgency and need to finish things as he was dangerously close to the edge. He leaned down, biting slightly at her right breast, making sure that it wasn't enough to hurt her. Her resulting cry and jerk against him was too much, and he buried his face against her cheek, groaning her name repeatedly before he felt her nails dig into his back. Her voice cried out his name right next to his ear, and he felt her joining him, dizzy by the sensation and the knowledge that he had done that to her. He had no clue how long they were like that, but coming back to himself, he raised himself off her, leaning down at the same time so he could kiss her.

Without a word the two parted and lay down after Castle had drawn up the sheet over them, turning to one another as they pressed close. He was the first to break the silence, stroking Beckett's hair as she brushed her fingertips over his lower lip.

"This feels more real right?" he asked.

Smiling as she knew what he was referring to, Beckett nodded and replied, "It does, and I really can't see myself choosing not to adopt her." She shrugged a little and said, "She was my daughter by then, I needed to make sure she came home." She then smiled and said, "And speaking of Julia."

"Damn, I was hoping for one more time," Castle said, stretching his arm out to the side. He leaned down and kissed her after she had laughed, and once they had finally made themselves stop, wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her close. "I love you Kate," he told her seriously.

"Love you too Castle," Beckett said, knowing he was remembering her on the block of ice again. She stroked his arm gently as he kissed her, and let him think she'd fallen asleep afterwards. But she wasn't that tired, even with her part in their exertions that night and she laid there, listening to his even breathing. Since she didn't have a clock within view, she had no idea how long it was before her fiancé was suddenly groaning next to her. "Castle?" she asked, realizing that he was having a nightmare. His grip on her tightened and she quickly got up on her elbows, lying on her stomach. "Castle, wake up, please," she said, shaking him hard.

His eyes shooting open as he'd come to the point in his dream where he could see Beckett on the block of ice, the red of her blood and pale blue of ice mixing together, Castle sat up as he was breathing heavily. "You-" he started to say once his eyes had focused on his fiancée, sitting next to him and cupping his cheeks.

Kissing him to stop him, Beckett made him lay down on top of her feeling his body relax gradually as she stroked his face gently. She heard a murmured apology, his lips moving against the side of her head. "Shh, it's okay, I wasn't asleep," she assured him, knowing why he'd said that. "It was just a nightmare you know."

"Yeah," Castle said, nodding as he could feel her warmth against his chest. "Kate," he said simply.

Though the tone of his voice wasn't really pleading, Beckett helped him to slide inside her, coupling with him again. She held him tightly against her, kissing him, and moving very deliberately so he could feel her. But in doing that, she was receiving plenty from him, soon finding herself panting in pleasure as he kissed all over her upper body; whatever he could reach when he wasn't at her lips.

Making love very carefully and deliberately, Castle and Beckett were soon clinging to one another as their mutual climax rushed through them nearly at the same time. They kept moving, until finally they slowed down, and came to a stop, breathing a little roughly from the intensity. It was with great reluctance that Castle moved to lay down next to her, Beckett quick to kiss him tenderly as she didn't want him having that same nightmare again; or one of the others that would sometimes come to him. That time though, she was the exhausted one, and he watched her closely as she relaxed in his arms.

Brushing his lips against her forehead, Castle kissed her tenderly, just barely brushing against her own lips. He felt the relief of holding her, and hoped that emotion would influence his dreams if he had any more that night. Closing his eyes to the sight of her face peaceful in sleep, he felt her body curled against him, and his mouth quirked into a brief smile that matched the one that had come over Beckett as she'd closed her eyes. The knowledge of that connection between them stayed with him as the room fell quiet, only their joined breathing reaching the walls.

They slept deeply and peacefully, the city outside still busy, still awake, but for them, their world was contained to them. They were together and even deep asleep their bodies unconsciously sought reassurance of that, keeping them close to one another as time slid from the dark of night into the brightening light of the next day.


End file.
